Alternate Ending
by Im-On-A-Roll
Summary: What if Shark Tale had a different ending? What if Lino was still reluctant to accept Lenny for who he was? If you really want to find out, I suggest you read this story. THE FINAL CHAPTER IS UP! WHOO! GO ME!
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter 1_

"Don't make the same mistake that I did," Oscar said to Don Lino. "I didn't know what I had, until I lost it."

We're all familiar with this line and we all know what happens next. Lino realizes he's made a huge mistake in judging Lenny, the two of them reconcile, and everyone lives happily ever after. But what if it hadn't happened that way? What if, in spite of everything that happened throughout the movie, Lino was still reluctant to accept his vegetarian son? What do you suppose would've happened to Lenny? Where would he have gone? Who would he have met? Would he ever meet another shark who loved him the way he was? It is my sincere pleasure to answer these questions as I tell how I would rewrite the ending to Shark Tale.

Lenny looked hopefully into his father's eyes and smiled weakly. Lino stared blankly. He'd never before considered the possibility that he'd hurt the feelings of someone he really cared about. For a single second, he could actually feel the father in him starting to come out, and it seemed to be telling him something. Maybe he shouldn't have been so hard on Lenny all the time. Maybe he shouldn't have judged him before truly getting to know him. And maybe he should've reminded himself who exactly he was practically discriminating against all those times; his son. Maybe deep down he really did love Lenny no matter what. Maybe… maybe…

No! The hint of sensitivity that was finally starting to rear its head out suddenly vanished. Son or no son, Lino would never accept a vegetarian. He was cold blooded and prejudice through and through. Family had nothing to do with the tradition of being a real shark.

The sad look in his eyes was replaced by his signature face of fear, and he said to Lenny, "You'll never be the shark I want you to be?"

Lenny's smile faded just a small bit.

"Then you'll never be any son of mine," Lino continued.

At this point, Lenny's face looked as if it'd never cracked a smile in his life. He stared back at Lino trying to think of something to say to express his shock. All he could even manage to say, though, was, "What?"

"Did I stutter?" Lino asked. "I said as long as you're a fish hugger, you'll never be my son."

Oscar gave himself a face palm. "We were so close," he said quietly.

Lenny was now feeling a lot more than shock. "Pop… I don't understand."

"Then maybe you'll understand this," Lino said furiously. "I want you outta my life and my memory. When you get outta that trap, don't even think about goin' back home. You'll never be welcome back there as long as I'm still kickin'. I don't care where you go or what you do, but as long as you're away from me then everyone wins."

As if the fact that he was saying this to his own son wasn't enough. He was saying it in front of hundreds of fish and a camera that was filming everything. Apparently he didn't care that every single one of the viewers was beginning to think he was the worst thing in the shape of a parent. He also wasn't aware that it wasn't just fish who were seeing all this happen. Back at the liner that was his home, his wife Kathleen, who had heard from Lino's employees that Lenny was still alive, was hearing every word Lino was saying on the TV. But we'll get to that part later.

Lenny, now shocked, hurt, and confused, miserably looked down at the ground trying to think of what to say now. Then he decided. There was no way he was going to keep his feelings bottled up this time. This time, he was going to look his father straight in the eye and let out everything that he was feeling.

"Alright, fine," he said angrily to Lino. "If that's what you want, that's just what you'll get. Oscar?"

"Say no more, Pal," said Oscar, who was clearly on his best friend's side.

Oscar approached the controls to the Whale Wash's machines and pressed the button that disabled Lenny's trap. Lenny was now free and able to move again, but Lino remained trapped and that was just fine with everyone.

For the first time in his life, Lenny actually had enough courage to face his father and tell him what he needed to hear. "You might wanna take a good, long look at me while you still can," he said, "'cause this is the last time you are _ever_ gonna see me."

The look on Lino's face was becoming more sinister by the second. "You make sure you get as far away from here as possible," he said in a dangerously quiet voice. "No kelp eatin' shark will ever be allowed on a reef where I'm in charge."

"Fine with me," said Lenny. "I'll just go somewhere where being a vegetarian shark is normal."

"HA! Good luck with that. There ain't no other sharks like you in this ocean. And if ever there were, I swear I'd have every last one of 'em taken out. And I mean _every_ one! Old, young, women, children, you name it. I'll never let 'em take another breath! You're lucky I'm showin' mercy on you and throwin' you outta our home!"

Lenny was stunned. How could anyone possibly be that prejudice against someone else? Disowning his own son for whatever purpose? That was one thing. But threatening to destroy so many innocent lives for that purpose? That was something entirely different.

"You will never change, will you?" he asked his father. "For a brief second, I actually thought you were having a change of heart, but you'll always be a great big jerk!"

"Why do you care?" said Lino. "I'm not your dad anymore!"

"And don't think I'm not grateful!" Lenny shouted. "If you actually think this is some sorta punishment, sorry to disappoint you but I'm glad! And what do you mean 'anymore'? You were barely my dad to begin with! You always treated me like one of your mobsters instead of what I really am: your son! I don't know where I'm going but I know I'll be a lot happier there than I ever was at home with you!"

"Then what the halibut are you waitin' for?" Lino barked. "GET OUTTA HERE!"

"FINE! I WILL!" Heartbroken and disowned, Lenny made his way to the Wash's entrance. "AND SAY HI TO MOM FOR ME, YA BIG JERK!" he added before leaving the building.

Once Lenny was gone, every single eye in the Wash was on Lino. And every single eye looked beyond frustrated as they glanced at the once most-feared and respected shark on the reef.

"What are you lookin' at, ya little hors d'oeuvres?" Lino snapped.

Oscar boldly approached him, aware that Lino could do nothing to him as long as he was trapped in the Wash's machines. "I really hope you're proud of yourself," he said to the great white mobster. "I think you need to stay in your cage a little while longer." He then turned and swam off in the direction Lenny had just fled in. Angie, who was also concerned for Lenny's feelings, followed him.

It didn't take them long to catch up with Lenny, even though he was so frustrated that he could out-swim the fastest dolphin known to man.

"Lenny!" Oscar tried to get his attention by grabbing hold of his dorsal fin. "Lenny, slow down!"

Lenny became aware of their presence and stopped where he was. "What do you want, guys?" Clearly he was still upset, so Oscar and Angie tried to go easy on him.

"We're sorry about what just happened," said Oscar. "There's just no way to reason with that guy."

"Tell me about it," said Lenny. "And I had to put up with him for nineteen years. And to think I actually _did_ think he was about to change."

"You weren't the only one who was almost fooled," Angie said. "I almost thought he was changing too. I guess some people will always be dark and bitter, no matter what you do."

"I really thought my little speech was gonna get him to change his mind about you," said Oscar. "Guess even that wasn't enough, huh?"

"It was worth a shot," said Lenny. "Thanks for tryin', Oscar. Now I gotta get outta here before he sees me."

Before Lenny could swim away, Oscar speedily swam up to him and stopped right in front of his face. "Wait a minute, you mean you're actually leavin'?"

"What choice do I have?" Lenny asked. "You heard what he said. No kelp eatin' shark will ever be allowed on a reef where he's in charge. And that includes me."

"Well where do ya think you're gonna go?"

"I don't know and I don't care," Lenny replied. "Like I said, anywhere's better than being here with him."

"Well then we're coming with you," said Angie.

Lenny tried to talk them out of it. "No, guys. He's kicking me out, not you. You have to stay here."

Neither Oscar nor Angie could believe what their best friend was telling them. "You mean you're going all alone?" Angie asked.

"I'll be fine," Lenny assured her. "The way I'm feelin' right now, no mugger or killer would dare lay a fin on me."

"But we're really gonna miss you, Man," said Oscar.

Lenny sighed. "I'll miss you guys too, but you know I have to do this. I can't jut stay here and let him make my life more miserable than he already has. Don't ya think you guys would do the same?"

Oscar and Angie were both silent for a few seconds. Then they looked at each other and decided they really would do the same thing if they were in Lenny's "shoes".

"You're sure you'll be okay?" Oscar asked.

"Positive."

"Will you be in touch with us?" Angie asked.

Lenny thought about this for a moment. Again, he didn't know where he was going or even how far away it was. But he was certain he could communicate with them somehow. "I'll do what I can, I promise," he said.

"Then, I… I guess this is goodbye," Oscar said sadly.

"I guess so," Lenny agreed. "Thanks a lot for helpin' me feel better about myself, guys."

"And thank you for making us realize that not all sharks are evil killing machines," Oscar said with a small laugh.

Oscar and Angie both hugged Lenny on the nose and the three best friends said their goodbyes.

"I really hope to see you guys again soon," Lenny said before departing.

"Count on it," Oscar replied. "Well, we'll be seein' ya, Lenny."

"Bye, Lenny," said Angie.

Lenny took one last look at his best friends before slowly turning to leave. "See ya."

Oscar and Angie kept their eyes set on their only shark friend until he was nothing more than a tiny black dot on the aqua-colored horizon. By then, Oscar was just about reduced to tears. "Poor guy," he said to Angie.

Angie placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "He'll be fine. I know he will. As long as he's away from here, he's safe."

_End of chapter_


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

It had been about an hour now and the Wash, with the exception of Lino who was still trapped in the equipment, was empty. Lino was bored, uncomfortable, and was actually beginning to think he was going to be trapped there forever. He was hungry, his fins had fallen asleep from the pressure of the sponges, and from time to time he himself had almost fallen asleep from sheer boredom. Perhaps this was the price he had to pay for throwing Lenny out of their home _before_ asking to be released. He could've at least said something to convince Oscar to release him and then thrown Lenny out. In retrospect, that seemed like a much better idea than speaking to Lenny the way he did in front of so many witnesses and then demanding to be released. That had resulted in just about everybody losing what was left of their respect for him and abandoning him. This must've been how it was going to end.

He was about to fall asleep for either the fourth or fifth time (he'd lost count), when…

"Boss? Boss, there you are!"

He knew that voice anywhere. He opened his eyes and saw Luca dashing toward him. "Luca! Thank God! How'd you know where I was?"

"We saw everything on the news," Luca explained.

"We?"

"Yeah," said Luca. "Everyone saw what happened on TV. That was pretty harsh what you said to the poor kid."

Right now, Lenny was the last thing Lino wanted to discuss. "Can we discuss that later? In case ya haven't noticed, I'm in a bit of a jam here."

"Really? What kind?" Luca asked.

"… Excuse me?"

"What kinda jam are ya talkin' about? Grape? Strawberry? Oh no, please tell me it's not boysenberry. 'Cause if it is, I'm afraid I can't help. I've gotta unpleasant experience with boysenberry and I promised myself I'd never get involved with…"

Lino was beginning to snarl. He should've known better than to use a metaphor on Luca of all people. "Just gemme outta here!" he barked.

"Oh, sure Boss. Right away. But afterwards, you'd better lemme have some of that jam."

Before Lino could explain that there technically was no jam, Luca swam to the Washes controls, found the button that he believed would set his boss free, and pressed it. Bizarre as it may sound, he'd actually pressed the right button.

Once Lino was free, he thanked his right-hand-man and stretched his fins to get the feeling back into them. "What a relief," he said. "I think I need a nap."

"A nap?" Luca said as his boss groggily made his way towards the entrance. "Wait, what about my jam?"

"COME ON, LUCA!"

It was twilight when the two of them arrived back at the liner. Luca went to the kitchen to see if there was any jam, and Lino headed for his bedroom to take a nap. He was rather surprised to open the door and see Kathleen was there.

"Hi, Honey," he said casually.

Kathleen may have been the only shark or fish in the sea who would never take any crap from her husband. "Don't you 'Hi Honey' me," she said. "Where in the world have you been?"

"Well, first of all," Lino started. "I'm sure you've heard from the guys that Lenny's alive, well the sad thing is…"

"That was a rhetorical question," Kathleen interrupted. "I know exactly where you've been. And don't waste my time by telling me Lenny was killed at some point between now and your little sit-down. I also know that he's still alive now, or for your sake he'd better be."

"How'd you find out?" Lino asked.

"It's this new invention called the news," said Kathleen. "Now enough stalling. Who do you think you are, Lino? What makes you think you have the right to throw our teenage son out of this house without hearing what I have to say about it?"

"I had to kick him out," said Lino. "He's a disgrace to sharks everywhere. Don't you understand that?"

"No, as a matter of fact I don't understand," Kathleen snapped. "How is he a disgrace? He's got two fins, all five senses, a tail, and two things that you seem to lack completely; a brain and emotions."

"Katie, the boy eats kelp of all things."

"I don't care if he eats corn chips with seanut butter," Kathleen said angrily. "He's our son! And more importantly he's the only one we have left. And you are willing to kick him out just because he doesn't have the same apatite that you have?"

"He has to kill and eat like a real shark or he'll never be able to take over the family business."

"Oh, you and your precious 'business'."

Now Lino truly was angry. "I was not gonna leave an entire reef to a shark who eats kelp and embraces fish."

"So that gives you the right to throw him out?" said Kathleen. "Honestly sometimes I think your business means more to you than your own family."

"Look," Lino explained. "He wasn't willing to learn himself and he doesn't have Frankie to teach him anymore. Therefore, I had to use the iron fist on him."

Kathleen rolled her eyes. She'd had more than enough of her husband constantly using fear to get his way. "Ugh!"

"What?"

"You can't always use the iron fist to control people, Lino."

"Well what else is there, Katie?"

"There's patience, understanding, and encouragement," said Kathleen. "But if you're too high and mighty to even consider using any of those, maybe you don't deserve to be a parent at all."

"Oh," said Lino. "Is that what you think?"

"If you think that eating habits is what makes a family, then yes that's what I think."

"Ya know what?" Lino asked.

"What?"

"Maybe you're right," Lino admitted. "Maybe I don't have what it takes to be a parent, but what's done is done."

"We'll just see about that," said Kathleen. "Until our son is safe in his room where he belongs, our relationship is gonna be one heck of a blood bath."

Lino raised an eyebrow. "And what's that supposed to mean, pray tell?"

Kathleen swam up to their bed, picked up Lino's pillow, and returned to her original spot. "That means, Your Mighty and Powerful Don-ship, if he can't sleep peacefully in the comfort of his own bed, neither can you." Then she chucked the pillow directly at Lino's chest, causing him to let out a grunt.

"So that's how it's gonna be, huh?" Lino asked.

"Yes, that's how it's gonna be," Kathleen replied. "Until further notice, this room is off limits to your pompous, hotheaded tailfin."

"So where am I supposed to sleep then?"

Kathleen pretended to think. "Well, that's actually none of my business, but when last seen there was a vacancy on the couch in the living room."

Upon hearing this, Lino actually looked nervous. "Tell me you're not serious."

"Don't be such a baby. You've slept on the couch before."

"Yeah, for one measly night," Lino pointed out. "Even you don't know how long it'll be before this issue is solved."

Kathleen poked Lino in the chest and literally started pushing him out of the room. "That being said, you'd better hope to God that this issue is solved soon. Now scram. I don't wanna see you again for the rest of the night."

"But what about dinner?"

Kathleen gave him a disgusted look. "Dinner? Oh no, no, no. For the time being, my occupation is not housewife. My occupation is to keep the all-brawn and no-brain crybaby at bay until our son returns and we are a happy family once again. Goodnight."

Before Lino could protest, Kathleen gave him one last poke in the chest and slammed the bedroom door right in his face.

A few hours later, Lino was trying to make himself comfortable sleeping on the couch. He hated it so much. Kathleen knew it was too small and cramped for him; then again it made sense that she punishing him by making him sleep on it. Since she refused to make dinner for him and he wasn't exactly a top chef, he was forced to go to "bed" hungry. It took him almost two hours to fall asleep because of cramped sleeping space and lack of food in his stomach. This was without question the worst day of his life, and he had the feeling the next few days… weeks… months… possibly even years were just going to keep getting worse.

_End of chapter_


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3_

Almost a month had passed since Lenny left the South Side Reef. Every day since then had been like a test of survival. Well, being a vegetarian shark wondering around in the ocean meant that food wasn't all that scarce seeing as kelp was just about everywhere. As for trying to find a place to live, that was another story.

Lenny had moved along from one reef to another trying to find both a place of employment and a place of residence. Every one of these reefs had given him the same treatment. The fish, unaware that he wouldn't hurt a shrimp, fled when they saw him coming and the sharks were no different than the ones he had grown up with.

Poor Lenny, all alone in the world and unable to find a place to stay for even one night, was forced to sleep on the cold, sandy ground night after night. If he was lucky, he found a large rock to use as a pillow. He might've been cold, but at least he was well fed because his food never tried to swim away from him. That may have been the only thing keeping him going. He had already been to so many reefs trying to find refuge and knew he was running out of options. He was starting to think Lino had been right. Maybe no one ever would love him for who he was. Then again, maybe that wasn't entirely true. He knew there were three people who still loved him: Oscar, Angie, and his mom. He realized they were no longer a part of his life, but the fact that they would always love him gave him hope. Hope that someone somewhere would also learn to love him. He didn't know who or where they could be or even when he would find them, but until then he lived in hope and learned to leave the past behind.

After going through at least seventeen reefs whose inhabitants refused to help him, Lenny's hopes were starting to diminish. But they say that the truth usually comes clear right when one starts to give up hope. And to Lenny, it was at that point where he was just on the edge of giving up when his luck suddenly changed.

It all started on a clear, sunny morning. Despite the shining sun and clear waters, Lenny was depressed and melancholy. He was swimming at a gloomily slow pace. His doubts of ever being accepted had just about overtaken him. Then he looked up and saw a large billboard with a message that was too incredible for him to believe.

"Welcome to Clearwater Reef! Where fish and sharks reside together in perfect harmony."

Lenny could see the reef itself about a mile away. It wasn't quite as big as the Southside Reef, but it looked like it could have some place to live. He reread the billboard about ten times just to make sure it said what he thought it did. He wanted to be sure he'd finally found a place where he would actually be understood by fish and accepted by sharks. After taking multiple glances at every last letter on the billboard, he decided to take the chance and see for himself what Clearwater Reef was like.

As he entered the city gate, Lenny took a look around and was truly amazed at everything that he saw. Everywhere he looked, fish and sharks were swimming amok together in the streets, shopping together, dining together (and the fish weren't on plates), and overall enjoying each other's company. Occasionally he would swim past a fish on the street, and instead of screaming or swimming away, they would say, "Hi there," or, "Nice day, huh?" He'd barely been in the city for ten minutes and he was already beginning to feel like he belonged here. And the part that really made Lenny happy was that none of the sharks he saw showed any signs of wanting to devour the fish, not even behind their backs.

"Wow," he said to himself. "Oscar and Angie would love to see this."

Thinking about his best friends suddenly made him wish they were there with him. But this feeling was only brief. He knew for sure he would reside in this reef, but his focus now was to find a place to both work and live in. He put aside his memories from the past and began looking around at the various work places hoping he'd find one with a "Help wanted" sign in the window.

Lenny looked at just about every kind of employment place he could imagine. Fast food restaurants, clothing stores, sports centers, you name it. Not one of them seemed to need any new employees.

After half-an-hour of looking around, he'd gotten tired and found a bench to sit on. He took a few minutes to catch his breath and then started to think. If he was going to live on this reef forever, he was going to have to get a real job. All the work places he'd looked at earlier were small-change kind of places. With their salaries, there was no way he'd make enough to even pay rent for an apartment. He needed a high paying job and fast.

"Ah man," he said out loud. "How am I ever gonna get a high paying job right now? I'm not even twenty yet. Jobs don't just fall right outta the clear blue sky."

Looking up at the sky, Lenny of course knew he was right. But something surprisingly helpful and conveniently located caught his eye. A tall billboard stood just across the street from him. It read, "Patrick and Sons' Lost and Found Organization. If you've lost your child, please contact us at 1-800-LOST-CHILD, or visit us in the shipwreck located west of the reef."

"Lost kids organization, huh?" Lenny thought. "Well, I guess it's better than working at Fish King for a living. Plus, I do love helping kids. Heck, if anything I can relate to them. What the heck? I'll give it a shot. Wow, billboards are my best friends today."

Without wasting anymore time, Lenny got up from the bench and started swimming west. He could tell which way it was by the location of the sun. Everyone knows the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, even sharks.

About fifteen minutes later, he found the shipwreck he was looking for. He was left speechless when he saw how big and beautiful it was. It was so much cleaner and newer looking than Lino's wreck. It must've just sunk a few years ago. Another thing that amazed Lenny was the location of this ship. It wasn't as distant from the rest of the reef as Lino's liner was from the rest of the Southside Reef. Heck, it was only about a quarter of a mile outside of Clearwater.

"Wow, no wonder the sharks get along so well with the fish," said Lenny. "They're practically next door neighbors."

Lenny went inside the ship and discovered the interior was every inch as beautiful and grand as the exterior. The color scheme was mainly blue with dove white accents and the floors were checkered with black and white tiles. Everything was so modern and convenient in the ship. Lenny felt like he was in a palace. Lino's liner had absolutely nothing on this beauty.

But it wasn't just the beautiful décor that amazed Lenny. He was equally impressed to find that this ship was a home to quite a few fish as well as sharks. And I'm not talking pet fish like the ones Lino had in the beginning of the movie. These fish were residents just like the sharks.

After taking in how unbelievably awesome Clearwater Reef and this elegant ship were, Lenny decided it was time to do what he came to do: seek out the owner of Patrick and Sons' organization and ask them for employment.

Lenny swam slowly through the hallway trying to find out where the organization was. He hadn't managed to, but he knew he was getting close when he came to a door with a sign outside that read, "Apply for jobs here." Clearly this ship had all sorts of jobs for all sorts of people.

Lenny pushed the door open and went inside. It wasn't exactly a large room, but at least it wasn't cramped inside. On one side of the room was a couch, on which two young sharks appeared to be filling out job applications. On the other side was a small desk where an elder female shark with half-moon glasses was seated. Lenny approached the desk and the female shark looked up at him through her spectacles.

"Good morning," she greeted him with a smile. "How may I help you?"

"I'd like a job application please," Lenny said with a smile.

"Alrighty," replied the elder female. "And what kind of job were you looking into?"

"Patrick and Son's Lost and Found Organization," Lenny replied.

The female shark looked rather surprised at Lenny's answer. "Really? A young shark like you? I thought you might want to start off with something small, like waiter or cabana boy."

"No, no," Lenny replied. "I'm here to help kids and nothing else."

The elder female smiled. Apparently she admired his heart. "Well then." She handed Lenny a pen and a piece of paper from a small pile. "There you are, Sweetie. Once you've filled everything out, just take it to Patrick."

"Thank you very much," Lenny said with a smile.

"You're very welcome."

Lenny took a seat on the couch and started filling out his application. Most of the questions it asked were basic application stuff. Name, age, date of birth, etc. But some of the questions required personal information that Lenny was afraid to answer. Current occupation? He wrote "none" trying to avoid giving the real answer, which as we all know was heir to a family of mobsters. Contact information? That one really was tricky. Unless he got this job, he had no contact information. So he simply wrote, "To be determined." The last truly difficult question to answer was, "Why are you interested in this job?" It may have sounded a bit sappy, but the only answer Lenny had was, "Because I can relate to the poor children."

He finished filling out the application in about ten minutes and then left the small room nervously hoping everything he'd answered would earn him this job. But there was also something else that made him even more nervous. Where was he supposed to go now?

_End of chapter_


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4_

Once in the hallway, Lenny tried to find any trace of the organization he was about to apply for. And I'm sorry to say that it was no light task. As previously mentioned, this ship was huge. Every corridor seemed like a maze. Lenny was completely lost for about five minutes trying to find his way through the seemingly endless hallways. He was starting to wish he'd asked for directions before leaving the office where he'd filled out his application. He'd thought about going back to ask, but he'd even forgotten where that office was.

"This doesn't seem professional," he said as he started to panic. "I'm on my way to an interview and I get lost. And the job involves helping lost kids. Ironic much?"

Now he was really hoping somebody would appear to give him directions. Then suddenly, to his relief, right when he was about to turn a corner…

BONK!

He accidentally bumped into another shark who almost literally appeared out of nowhere. More specifically, the two of them bumped heads.

"Ow!" Lenny exclaimed, throwing his fin to his throbbing forehead.

The other shark said the exact same thing at the exact same time. Lenny hadn't gotten a good look at the shark before they ran into each other and he'd shut his eyes completely due to pain after the impact. But after hearing the shark say "Ow," he was able to tell that it was a girl.

"That's gonna leave a mark," Lenny said with his eyes remaining shut. "I'm sorry, Miss."

"That's okay," the girl shark said, also keeping her eyes shut. "I bet you were on your way to something important."

"Yeah," Lenny replied. "A job interview. And what a great impression I've made already. First I get lost, now I'm sure I'm gonna meet the boss with a big lump on my head."

"Well I take it you don't know your way around here just yet," the girl said with a small laugh, ignoring the pain in her forehead. "But that's understandable. This is a pretty big ship and you never know when someone's gonna… appear… out of… nowhere…"

That is when the two sharks removed their fins from their foreheads, opened their eyes, and finally got a good look at each other. The moment Lenny laid his eyes on the girl shark, his mind started drawing a blank. She was the most beautiful great white female he'd ever seen in his life. Her eyes were a refreshing olive green, her physique was slender and the top of her head reached Lenny's eye level. She also appeared to be quite stylish. She wore a long, blue floral printed scarf loosely around her neck that reached down to the tips of her fins. This gave the impression that she was the free spirit type. On top of all this, she looked like she was, if not close to, the exact same age as Lenny.

Her reaction when she saw Lenny was no different. She'd taken just one look into his eyes and almost didn't finish her sentence. Now the two young great whites were staring at each other like they'd never seen another shark of the opposite gender in their lives. Their eyes were wide open, their mouths were half open, and their minds were completely shut. It was like they were in some sort of trance that would never end. Lenny could swear he felt like he was about to drool, and that's when he finally snapped out of it.

The bizarre connection of their eyes ended after about half-a-minute and they both smiled at each other feeling embarrassed.

"Anyway," the girl said trying to remember what they were previously talking about, "I hope you do well with your interview."

"Thank you," Lenny replied bashfully.

"What job is it anyway?"

"Patrick and Sons Lost and Found organization."

The girl went wide-eyed. "Get out!"

Lenny suddenly looked dumbfounded. "Uh, what?" For a moment he thought she was actually telling him to get out.

"No, I mean I work as a secretary in that organization."

"Are you kiddin' me?" Lenny asked happily. Then he realized how weird she probably thought he was acting and calmly cleared his throat. "I mean… that's pretty cool."

"Yeah," said the girl. "Well I'm actually getting ready to go on my lunch break, so if you'll excuse me."

"Wait!" Lenny said quickly, realizing that he hadn't caught her name.

"Yeah?" she asked.

Lenny became nervous again. She was looking at him with those irresistible eyes again. Those eyes made him feel so weird inside that he couldn't remember what he wanted to ask her. But then he figured he might as well ask her something else. Something that he needed to know right this second.

"Could you tell me where Patrick's office is, please?" he asked, hating himself for not remembering the question he really wanted to ask.

"Oh sure," she replied. "Go straight down this hall and then go up the stairs. Turn left at the restrooms and it's the third door on your right. But knock first, he doesn't like people barging in unannounced."

"Thank you," Lenny said. He turned quickly and started following her directions.

"Good luck!" she called after him.

As Lenny followed the stairs to the next floor up, he suddenly remembered what he wanted to ask her. He considered himself an idiot for forgetting a question as simple as, "May I have your name, please?" Upon coming to the next floor, he saw the restroom doors the girl had informed him of and turned left. While doing so, he was angrily saying to himself, "She thinks you're an idiot, she has to! The most beautiful girl shark you've ever bumped into and you can't even ask for her name? You'd better pray to God you impress the boss at this interview. That way you can actually get her name!"

Lenny's mood went from frustration to apprehension as he approached the third door from the restrooms. He hoped sincerely that he wouldn't open the door and go into a cave dark office and see a clone of his dad sitting at a desk. As far as he was concerned, that was the last person anybody (with the exception of Luca) would want for an employer. Then again, this wasn't the mob. This was an organization that seemed to love kids and helped lost ones find their way back home. Why would a mobster even consider running a business like that?

Ultimately, he decided the only way to find out was to go in there and nail that interview. His fin reached for the door handle and then froze when he remembered what the girl he just "met" had told him. "But knock first, he doesn't like people barging in unannounced." The memory of that statement put his nerves right back on top. If he recalled correctly, even Lino didn't mind people randomly bursting into his office without warning. Then again, it really depended on who it was. But the way the girl had put it, it sounded like this Patrick guy would not tolerate any unannounced interruptions from anyone.

With a trembling fin, Lenny knocked gently on the wooden door. A few seconds later, he heard a deep, masculine voice coming from inside. "Come in!" The owner of that voice didn't sound too happy to be interrupted. Lenny now felt relieved that that girl had warned him to knock before entering.

Deciding not to keep the shark inside waiting, Lenny pushed the door open and found himself in a room that looked far too big for an office. The walls were at least seventy feet long and the roof was at least thirty feet above Lenny's head. There were multiple paintings on the two sidewalls and a large window that let in the beautiful late morning light on the wall farthest from Lenny. In front of the window was a large, elegant wooden desk that was fit for a king. Or in this case, the boss of such a major organization. Seated at the desk were, not one, but three great white males. All three, though they appeared so far away because of the huge size of the office, had their pale gray eyes set on Lenny.

"Come closer, boy," said the shark seated in the middle. His voice was the same one that had ordered Lenny to come in just seconds before. But this time, his voice didn't sound quite as thunderous.

Lenny approached the long, wooden desk, admiring the large size and interior décor of the office. He reached the three sharks and became more nervous than ever when he saw the looks on their faces. Not one of them seemed to be smiling. The one on Lenny's right, who looked like he was the youngest, looked shy and timid. The one on the left looked fierce and frankly was rather hard faced. On the plus side, he seemed a lot fiercer than the elder shark sitting between the two youngsters. Lenny took him to be Patrick and the two others were his sons. Looking at the three of them, Lenny was instantly reminded of days when he and Frankie ran the mob with their father. Not the most comforting memory.

"Can we help you?" Patrick asked.

Lenny gulped, trying to gain a calm and steady feeling. "Well, I'm new to the reef," he explained nervously, "And I was out and about earlier trying to find a job and I stumbled across this elegant ship and thought it'd be a great place to work. They gave me an application and…"

The rough faced shark to his left interrupted him. "We're not accepting new employees at this time," he snapped. "Besides, what do we look like, a burger stand? This isn't the sort of place a kid your age should be coming to for work. So why don't you just parade out of here and go back to wherever you came from…"

"Nathan!" Patrick barked.

The rough faced shark stopped talking and pouted like a three-year-old, making him look even more unattractive.

"Don't mind him, Son," Patrick said to an offended looking Lenny. "He's always been a kidder. Have a seat and we'll take a look at your application."

Lenny felt some better about Patrick; apparently he wasn't as harsh as the shark called Nathan. He sat down in the chair across from the three sharks and handed Patrick his application. It didn't take too long for them to finish, but all three seemed puzzled about some of the information Lenny had given while answering the questions.

"I rest my case," Nathan said looking Lenny in the eye. "I knew this was the first job you were applying for. Not the first time I've seen it. Some kid comes to the reef hoping to get a fancy-pants job and become a big shot. Well I got news for you, half-pint…" Out of nowhere, there came a loud snapping noise that to Lenny sounded like a shark's tailfin painfully hitting another individual. Nathan then made a face and quietly said, "Ow!" From the disapproving look on Patrick's face, Lenny could tell that what'd just happened was Patrick defending him and nonverbally telling Nathan to shut up.

"Give it a rest, Nathan," Patrick demanded. "The kid's obviously got a dream, as opposed to any sort of contact information. Care to evaluate?" he asked Lenny.

"Well it's really kinda simple," said Lenny. "I was forced to leave my home, for personal family reasons, and I needed a place to stay. I don't care to say anymore than that, it'll just bring back painful memories and give me heartache."

The youngest of the three bosses, who had been silent the whole time Lenny was present, started to whimper. "Okay, now _that_ is devastating. You poor shark. All alone in the world and no home to go to at the end of the day?"

Nathan rolled his eyes in a mocking manner. "Shut up, Dustin! Could you be any more of a baby? I am so embarrassed to be related to you."

Now Lenny really was reminded of Frankie.

"Well forgive me for having feelings, Nathan!" Dustin retorted.

"Try too much feelings," Nathan replied. "You spend too much time with Ma."

Patrick angrily slammed his fist on the wooden desktop. "Stop it, both of you! Is this any way to act in front of interviewee?"

"No, Dad," Nathan and Dustin replied together.

"I didn't think so," said Patrick. He then returned his attention to Lenny. "Well, Lenny, you seem to be a very personal shark. Normally I'd frown upon that, but lucky for you I know sincerity when I see it. And I could tell you were sincere when you mentioned that you need a place to live. Plus, your application states that you want to help the kids. So, let me just say… congratulations."

"Really?" Lenny asked, no longer nervous. "That's great! When do I start?"

Nathan put his fins to his ears. He was either sensitive to noise or had a strict no happiness policy.

"Well," Patrick said calmly. "Let's start with introductions. I'm Patrick, the president of this organization. You will address me as either President Patrick or Sir. And these are my sons and, unfortunately, heirs to the family business. Nathan and Dustin. You'll address them as Nathan and Dustin individually and as a group you will address them as the idiots."

"Hey!" Nathan barked.

"Watch yourself, Boy," Patrick hissed.

Nathan miserably sank lower in his seat.

"You'll report here promptly at nine o'clock tomorrow morning and the idiots will give you further instructions. As for residence, we have an empty room two floors down. Room C24. I hope it'll be to your liking."

"That's likely," Lenny smiled. "I love everything about this ship so far."

"I gathered," replied Patrick. "Now get a good nights sleep and be ready to report for work first thing in the morning."

"Yes, Sir."

"Dismissed."

_End of chapter_


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter 5_

Lenny arose from his seat and turned to leave _President_ Patrick's office. As he swam closer to the door, he felt super confident with himself. His mission had finally been accomplished. In just one day, he'd found an awesome job, a gorgeous new ship to reside in, both were on a reef where he felt like he could finally be normal, and it wasn't even noon. Not a bad way to start the morning. And to think last night he was sleeping on a rock.

Once he got to the door and pulled it open to leave the office, he remembered being lost in the maze of hallways and realized it could take him a while to find his room. But even that didn't ruin the mood he was in. He marched out of the office with a smile on his face. Barely three seconds later…

BONK!

"Ow!" Unbelievable! Once again, he accidentally bumped heads with a shark he hadn't seen coming. "Déjà vu," he said. It hadn't hurt as much as last time, but he still had to hold his fin to his forehead for a moment.

His heart skipped a beat when he heard the other shark say, "Well hello again."

Lenny opened his eyes and tried to act casual. Ironically, this was the same girl shark in the blue scarf that he'd bumped into prior to his interview. "Hey," he said nervously.

The girl simply laughed. "We have gotta stop meeting like this."

Lenny nodded. "Couldn't agree more."

"You seem like you're in a good mood," she said, trying to change the subject. "I take it the interview went well?"

"Oh yeah, it was great. I…" Lenny went silent when he saw something in her fin. A plastic drink cup that was about halfway filled with a thick, mint green liquid that Lenny recognized too well. "Is that what I think it is?" he asked, pointing to the cup.

"That depends," the girl replied. "Do you think it's a kelp shake?"

Lenny was over the moon on the inside, and about a quarter of the way to the moon on the outside. "I don't believe it. I've never met another shark who eats, or drinks, kelp before."

"You must be from out of town then."

"Yeah," said Lenny. "I'm from the South Side Reef."

"Ah," the girl said. "Yeah, I heard those guys were kind of old school. Here on Clearwater Reef, being a vegetarian shark is by no means uncommon."

"I guess I kinda figured that out for myself," said Lenny. "You've gotta tell me where you got that shake 'cause I am gonna be thirsty after I have a nap."

"Well there's a café on the second floor that sells them," the girl explained. "But I actually made this one myself."

"Wow, now I'm impressed," Lenny said. He never knew kelp shakes could be homemade before. "You must come from a long line of chefs."

The girl made a face that said she was thinking. "Not that I know of, but I do have a younger sister who can make these so much better than I can. And another younger sister who can drink like five in the blink of an eye. So I guess that's pretty close."

"Wow, big family."

"Anyway, congratulations on nailing your interview. Do you know what room you'll be living in?"

"C24," Lenny replied. "Now if I could just figure out how to get to it."

"I know where it is. Would you like me to take you?" the girl offered.

"Is that gonna get in the way of your work?" Lenny asked, hoping he wouldn't be a burden.

The girl shook her head. "It'll be okay, they'll never notice I'm not there. Shall I be your guide then?"

Lenny smiled. "Sure."

The two of them, with her leading, started swimming slowly down the long hall.

"By the way," she said. "I don't believe I got your name the last time we literally bumped heads."

"Oh yeah, you didn't." Lenny had been so upset about not getting her name that he never realized he never gave her his. "I didn't get yours either. And I was so upset about it that I was talking to myself the whole time before I went into the president's office. Wow, I hope no one saw me talking to myself. 'Cause that'd be embarrassing. I've barely been here more than a few hours and I'm doing embarrassing things left and right. Not a great way to make an impression on people, huh?"

The girl looked at Lenny with wide eyes. He took this as a way of saying, "You just said a lot more than you needed to."

"Heh heh… Sorry, I tend to ramble when I talk to… Sorry."

"No, it's fine."

Lenny sighed. "Okay, good."

The two of them were silent for a very brief period.

"So?" the girl asked.

Lenny looked puzzled. "So what?"

"Your name?"

Now Lenny felt stupid. He smacked himself in the forehead. "Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't realize I hadn't told you. See what rambling does? It makes you completely forget what you're talking about. But I can't help it. I get like that when I'm around girls like you."

The girl raised an eyebrow, but at the same time she was still smiling.

Lenny was feeling more and more stupid by the second. "No, I… I meant that in a good way. Ya know, girls like you. As in girls who are friendly and… unique… and who don't eat fish and… and…" With a big, nervous smile, he quickly held out his fin to her. "I'm Lenny."

She chuckled and shook his fin. "Kylie."

"Nice to meet you," said Lenny. "Oh by the way, sorry for all the migraines."

Kylie laughed. "No biggy."

It took about five minutes for the two of them to get to room C24. Lenny drew a map in his head trying to remember all the surroundings so he would have an easier time finding the President's office. On the way, Kylie acted as a tour guide, giving him as many directions as possible and providing a bit of history behind every section of the ship.

"Here's our stop, Sir," Kylie said, stopping outside a door labeled C24. "It's got everything you'll need. A king sized bed, TV with remote and channel guide, and map of the ship located in the top dresser drawer."

"Thanks a lot… Kylie," Lenny said shyly.

Kylie smiled. "You don't have to be nervous around me, Lenny."

Lenny begged to differ. "I'll remember that," he covered.

"So before I get back onboard the crazy boat," Kylie said, referring to her employers, "how do you think you'll like working here?"

Lenny thought for a second. "Uh, honestly I think I'll have to get back to you on that one. I'm not even that sure what I'll be doing."

"I can understand that. I've been working for the organization for almost two years and it isn't really the type of thing you can get used to fifteen minutes in."

"Patrick seems like a pretty pleasant guy though," Lenny continued. "But I wish he'd smile a little more. Has he always had the face of a dried-up sea cucumber?"

"No," said Kylie. "But he has always been my uncle."

Lenny gasped. "I am _so_ sorry. I didn't know, I… Ugh, what is wrong with me today?"

Kylie held up a fin, trying to calm him down. "It's okay. I actually can't say I disagree with that statement. I know he may look strict on the outside, but over time you'll think he's a saint. It's my cousins you have to worry about."

"That I noticed," said Lenny. "Especially that one, uh, Nathan."

Kylie shuddered at hearing that name. "He is the worst person I could ever have asked to be related to. But you know, sometimes you can't help but pity him. He's always been a difficult child. His parents spoiled him rotten as a kid and he's just been messed up ever since."

"He sure didn't look spoiled when I was in there," said Lenny. "Maybe a jerk, but not spoiled. If anything, his dad was way too hard on him about everything he did."

"Yeah, well Uncle Patrick never really was father of the year material. He spoils his son for twenty-five years, the kid becomes a screwed up brat, and now his dad wants no part of him. And, just a little warning: Nathan is a terrible boss. He can practically sense someone making the tiniest mistake and then he verbally abuses them for it."

Lenny gulped. "Really?"

Kylie nodded. "We're starting to think he may have hidden cameras in every room of the ship. He's always appearing out of nowhere right when you're least expecting it…"

"Well, well, well," said a familiar voice that was so close it made Lenny jump.

Kylie rolled her eyes when she saw Nathan. "Speak of the devil."

"Look what we've got here," Nathan said, mainly to Lenny. "This you're little game, little shark? You're barely here five minutes and you start pickin' up the first girl you see?"

"Uh…" Lenny was pretty much speechless. Luckily, he was with Kylie.

"I was helping him find his room, Nathan. He was lost. And if you don't mind, I really wish you would _get_ lost."

"Whoa, feisty," Nathan said with an unpleasant smile. "Ya know, Kylie? It's kinda sad that we're related, isn't it?"

"I couldn't have said it better myself," Kylie replied.

"Yeah, otherwise I'd be super attracted to you."

Kylie looked like she was about to gag.

"You're everything I look for in a girl," Nathan continued. "Feisty, spunky, and not half bad looking."

Kylie didn't seem to let Nathan's repulsive attitude get to her. "Nathan, you used to be just sort of unlikeable, but now every time you open your mouth I feel like beating you with an ugly stick." She then looked her cousin straight in the face. "Oh wait, somebody already beat me to it."

Lenny snickered at her hilarious comeback. He tried to avoid trouble by making it look like he was coughing, but he hadn't done a very good job because Nathan saw him smile.

Nathan frowned and angrily cracked his knuckles. "You think that was funny, do ya?"

"Wha…? No…" Lenny was nothing short of horrified.

"Well maybe you'll think it's less funny when I beat _you_ with an ugly stick," Nathan growled.

Kylie slapped Nathan on the fin, which surprisingly caused him to wince and back off. "Leave him alone and go on your lunch break! Your mommy should be done pre-chewing your food for you by now."

Nathan scowled once more at Lenny and then disappeared, mumbling under his breath. Once he was gone, Kylie turned back to Lenny.

"Sorry about that," she said. "Let me know if he bothers you in the future."

"It's fine," Lenny assured her. "In a way, I'm kinda used to it. I used to have a brother like him."

"Used to?"

"Yeah, he…" Lenny still dreaded to think about that day. "He died not too long ago."

"Oh," said Kylie. "I'm sorry."

Lenny pretended not to mind. "It's okay. For a long time, I blamed myself for it. I was a vegetarian, my dad was upset about it, he told my brother to teach me how to kill, he didn't look where he was going, and then… then an anchor fell on him."

"And you witnessed it happen?"

Lenny nodded. "Probably the worst day of my life. And it was even worse knowing that he was kinda Pop's favorite."

Kylie made a serious face. "That is the worst. I cannot stand it when parents play favorites on their kids."

"I hated it too," said Lenny. "But I guess the oldest in every family is the favorite."

"Try telling that to Nathan," said Kylie.

"I saw the way he treated your other cousin and it made me think of me and my brother," said Lenny. "And not really in a good way. In retrospect, I think my childhood would've been a lot easier if I had two little sisters like you."

"Actually six."

Lenny's jaw dropped.

"Yeah, I get that reaction a lot." Kylie pushed his chin upward in order to close his mouth.

"Six sisters?"

"My parents always wanted a big family," Kylie explained. "And of course it took my dad a while to get used to being the only guy, but he loves us and wouldn't change a thing about any of us. He's the perfect example of a family man. My sisters and I are blessed to have such patient, fun loving parents."

Lenny's heart sank a bit. "Yeah, I bet it _is_ nice to have a patient, fun loving dad. Not that I'd know. My dad was too much of a business man and not enough of a parent."

"Sounds kinda like Uncle Patrick," Kylie said in an understanding voice. "His main goal is to get Nathan and Dustin ready for the day he retires. After that, they're in charge of the organization."

"Family business, huh?" said Lenny.

"Yup."

"That I can relate to. My dad's a mob boss. He was gonna leave me and my brother in charge of the entire reef when he retired."

"Really?" said Kylie. "So why are you here?"

Someone had finally asked Lenny the one question he had been afraid of answering. He was by no means willing to tell Kylie that Lino kicked him out just for being a vegetarian and threatened to kill other vegetarian sharks should he find out where they were. "I… I ran away." That was all he managed to say because…

"There you are, Kylie." This time, their intruder was President Patrick. "Where have you been? Your lunch break ended ten minutes ago."

"Sorry, Uncle Patrick," said Kylie. "I was just helping our new guy find his room."

Patrick looked at Lenny. "Ah. Nice to see you're already getting to know your coworkers, Lenny."

Lenny didn't know how to respond, but he knew he wasn't in trouble so he just smiled.

"And Kylie," Patrick continued. "I admire your lending a helping fin to our newest employee, but next time let me know ahead of schedule, okay?"

"Yes, Uncle Patrick." Kylie turned to face Lenny. "I'd better get back to work. It was nice meeting you, Lenny."

Lenny became noticeably nervous again. "You too… Kylie."

Kylie and Patrick turned to head back to their offices. Lenny opened his bedroom door and was so busy looking at Kylie that he was blinded to everything else. He swam forward thinking he was going into the room, but instead he swam right into the wall, painfully bumping his nose. He rubbed it hoping no one had seen what'd just happened, and then he noticed that both Kylie and Patrick had seen it. He was embarrassed and thought Kylie would think he was a clumsy goofball. She only smiled; truthfully she thought his moment of humiliation was cute. Lenny waved goodbye to her, went into his room and shut closed the door behind him.

As the uncle and niece continued on their way, Patrick noticed the smile on Kylie's face that had been present since she and Lenny had said goodbye. "It doesn't look right, you know," he told her.

"What?" Kylie asked, pretending she didn't know what he meant.

"A bright young girl like you being attracted to a boy you just barely met," Patrick continued. Sometimes he was more of a dad to her than he was to his own sons.

"Attracted? What are you talking about? I was showing him to his room, that's all."

"Believe it or not, Kylie, I used to be a teenager," said Patrick. "I know what it's like to be young and have nothing on your mind but the opposite gender. You're a very diligent worker. I don't want to see you daydreaming about boys when you should be concentrating on your work."

"I appreciate your concern, Uncle Patrick, but I really think we should let my parents be the judge of that."

Kylie continued to smile. Her uncle had pretty much just read her like a book. He knew she already had very strong feelings for Lenny deep down. And I'm pretty sure you can all tell Lenny's feelings for her are no different. Hint: They're crushing!

_End of chapter_


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter 6_

Lenny woke up the next morning eager for his first day of work. As eager as he was, though, he wasn't entirely sure what exactly he would be doing or what kind of payment he would get. But as long as he was helping kids who were in the same position as he was, nothing else mattered. There were only two things he wasn't looking forward to: taking orders from Nathan and embarrassing himself in front of Kylie again. He was convinced no matter how hard he would try, the latter prediction was sure to come true. Recap of yesterday: he bumped heads with her twice, revealed his nerves by rambling, and almost broke his nose when he said goodbye to her. He was sure today would be no different, but at the same time he couldn't wait to see her again. She was, after all, unlike any other girl shark he'd ever met. Beautiful, spunky, and above all a vegetarian. But even though she was all that, Lenny knew he would have to focus on whatever work he would be given. "No distractions," he told himself as he left his room.

He arrived at President Patrick's office at nine o'clock.

"Good morning, Lenny," Patrick said tiredly. He clearly wasn't a morning person. "Welcome to your first day as part of the organization. I trust you slept well?"

"Yes, Sir," said Lenny. "Thank you."

"Glad one of us did," Patrick yawned.

"Is everything alright, Sir?" Lenny asked.

Patrick nodded. "I wish I could say it's been worse. I was up all night worrying about Nathan. He snuck out and went Lord-knows-where. Then he showed up for work today acting like nothing happened. But I'm not buying it. Anyway, that's of no importance. Follow me, I'll take you to your workstation."

Patrick led Lenny down the long hallway. Each door they passed led to a different workstation in the lost and found organization. Lenny was surprised at how many kinds of jobs there were.

The Patrol Squad was one of the main things that made the organization possible. It was their job to patrol the reef and look for children (fish or sharks) who had been separated from their families. They would then try to locate the child's parents using whatever information the child would give them. If the child appeared to be an orphan or their parents were either abroad or simply hard to find, the squad would take them to the shipwreck and provide them with food and shelter until their parents came to reclaim them.

There was also an art department. Lenny couldn't help but chuckle at the idea of a lost and found organization having an art department. Patrick then explained to him that this department was by no means a laughing matter. The people in that department designed flyers on which to put photos of the children whom they were giving shelter. These flyers would then be plastered up all over the reef informing citizens of the found children who were missing their families. If their parents recognized the child in the picture as their own, they would know where to go to claim their lost children. Lenny then understood the importance of the art department.

They passed one more door before proceeding to whatever department Lenny would be working in. And frankly, Lenny was glad they passed this door instead of stopping at it. It led to the organization's infirmary. Lenny didn't need an explanation for that area. It was clear to him that the children in there had acquired disease after separation from their families. Patrick then said that it wasn't just for the sick. Most of the children in the infirmary had been dragged away from their homes because they were abused and neglected by their families. Those were the kids Lenny could most relate to. Even though Lino had never been physically abusive, he'd certainly acted neglectful towards Lenny. Working in an infirmary full of abused, neglected, and possibly dying children would only bring back more unpleasant memories.

"Here we are, Son," Patrick said, coming to a sudden stop.

"What department is this?" Lenny asked.

"I remember in your interview you said your main goal is to help the kids," Patrick explained. "So help the kids, you will."

He pushed the door open and Lenny followed him inside. The two sharks found themselves in a large room that was chalk full of three things: cots, toys, and kids. Lenny was relieved that these kids, of whom there were about thirty, all looked healthy and happy. If he was going to work with kids, he wanted to see them smiling.

"This is where the kids stay until their parents come to claim them," Patrick explained. "Or in a few cases, until a new family comes to adopt them. But whatever the case, we do our best to make them feel as much at home as possible until they leave. And that is exactly what you will be doing."

"Stay in here with the kids all day and make sure they're happy?" Lenny summed up.

"I know it isn't exactly glamorous," Patrick admitted. "But it's where most rookies in this business get started."

Lenny looked around and noticed about ten young adults who were giving the kids toys, reading to them, or giving them snacks. They were attending to the needs of the children and they didn't seem to be happy doing it. If anything, some of them actually looked stressed trying to juggle the needs of thirty kids at once. Their attitudes changed some when they noticed their president's presence. They tried to make it look like they were having the time of their lives when deep down they were worn to a frazzle. Lenny could tell this just by looking at the bags under their eyes.

"Everyone looks so traumatized," he said quietly to Patrick.

"That's another reason why I'm having you work here," Patrick replied. "I can tell you're a very patient and understanding young shark. That's something many rookies I've seen lately don't seem to have. But they have to learn to grow if they ever want to make it to the bigger departments. You can't be a part of the business if you can't be patient with kids. And here are two people who have to learn that the hard way."

A wave of nervousness washed over Lenny when he saw Nathan and Dustin approach them.

"I really hope you two are being good for the kids," Patrick said strictly to the two of them.

"Yes, Dad," Dustin said nervously. "You know we only live to serve the little guys. You can count on us for anything."

"I hope so," said Patrick. "Now then, I'd like you two to give a warm welcome to our newest addition. You remember Lenny. Lenny, you remember the idiots."

Lenny smiled nervously. "Hi."

It was hard to tell if Nathan was giving him a dirtier than usual look or was just being himself. Lenny pretended it was the latter.

"I expect you two to be patient with Lenny," Patrick advised his sons. "If he does something wrong, don't reprimand him. Remember it's his first day and he's bound make at least one mistake. And Nathan, don't screw this up."

Nathan sighed. "Yes, Dad."

Presently, another employee approached the group. If Lenny wasn't nervous upon seeing Nathan and Dustin, he was a train wreck when he saw that it was Kylie. She was holding a five-year-old hammerhead female in her arms.

"Good morning, Kylie," Patrick greeted her.

"Morning, Uncle Patrick," Kylie replied. "Morning Dustin, Jerk-face." Nathan continued to look upset. "And good morning to you, Lenny."

Lenny sucked up whatever nerves he was feeling and said, "Hey, Kylie. That's a cute kid you got there."

Kylie laughed. "This is Madison. She gets to go home today, lucky girl. Her mom's waiting for her in the lobby as we speak so I better not keep her waiting. I'll see you around."

"Yeah, I'll… see ya," said Lenny. He kept his eyes on Kylie until she left the room with Madison in tow.

"Hey, Half-pint," Nathan snapped. "If I were you, I'd focus less on my cousin and more on my work."

"Then why don't you?" Patrick asked him. "Get on with your work, both of you."

Nathan and Dustin obeyed and continued with aiding the children.

"What does Kylie do anyway?" Lenny asked Patrick.

"She keeps track of the names of all the kids," said Patrick. "So by the end of each day, we know which ones have been taken home and which ones still need to be taken home. Anyway, that's pretty much everything you need to know about the organization. Be good for the kids and, unless it's completely stupid, listen to whatever the idiots have to say. If they give you a hard time, you know where to find me. And you can take your twenty-minute lunch break whenever you desire. All that said, enjoy your first day."

For the next few hours, Lenny paced the room slowly with the other employees giving whatever comfort he could to the children. Some of the needs were pretty basic, like picking up toys for the kids on cots or getting them a tissue if they had a runny nose. But quite a few of them were especially difficult to cooperate with. One or two of them never said a word and the others would scream and cry until the employees would get a headache. Lenny could tell these were the ones who had just recently been placed in the organization's care. Regardless of how loud or silent, Lenny would help the kids with their problems the minute he would sense they needed help.

It had been about three hours when Lenny's patience was put to the test. A four-year-old leopard shark began screaming and crying so randomly that every single employee and even a few of the other kids jumped in surprise. To Lenny, it seemed like a full-on emergency because the other employees all rushed to the toddler's side in an instant. Lenny lifted his head, trying to see past the crowd. He could just barely make out the little pup, but he could see enough to know that none of the employees knew what was bothering him. They each held up a toy to him or made a funny face, but he just kept crying.

At last Nathan, who was standing a few yards away from the chaos, felt it was time to take action. "What the halibut is wrong with him?" he snapped at the other employees.

Dustin was not pleased with his brother's choice of words. "Oh sure, as if he's not miserable enough! You have to go and make things worse with your trash talk!"

"I'm gonna trash your face if you don't find out what's wrong with this kid!"

"Can you not see we're trying?" Dustin hollered. "In case you haven't noticed, he's been here for two days and other than his name, he's never said a word to any of us! What makes you think he's gonna tell us what's bothering him?"

It was clear to Lenny that they wouldn't get anywhere screaming at each other. So he decided to take this matter into his own fins. Even though he knew what was upsetting the leopard shark pup about as much as Nathan and Dustin did, anything was better than letting him continue to scream. So while Nathan and Dustin were at each other's throats and the other employees were trying to calm the kid down, Lenny tried to seek out the problem himself.

"Alright," he said to himself. "What could've happened that made him start crying so randomly?" He'd always heard that the best thing to do in a situation like this was to retrace his steps. So he searched his memory trying to remember what the kid had been doing in the three hours since the workday started. Whenever Lenny had seen him, he was sitting on his cot playing by himself. "That's a start," Lenny thought. "Now what was he playing with?" He retraced his steps once more and remembered the kid was playing with a tiny red rubber ball. That must've been why he started crying. He must've dropped it on the floor. "Well, mystery number one's solved. Now for mystery number two: Where'd the ball go after he dropped it?" That was a really tricky question seeing as a tiny rubber ball that can both roll and bounce super high could be anywhere. Lenny got down on the floor and started looking under each of the cots. After about thirteen tries, he finally saw a red spherical object under a cot about twenty feet away from the chaos the other employees were creating. He picked it up and smiled at his accomplishment. Then he approached the other employees (just in time too, Nathan was about to give his brother a broken jaw) and raised his voice to get their attention.

"Hey, guys!" Everyone looked up at him. "I think I found the problem!"

"Oh do you?" Nathan asked, less than impressed.

"Nathan, just give the kid a chance," said Dustin, who Lenny was starting to feel better about. "Go ahead, Lenny."

Lenny swam up to the leopard shark pup and held out the rubber ball. "Hey, little guy. Is this what you wanted?"

The boy smiled and took the ball from Lenny's fin. "Thanks a lot, Mister!"

Lenny chuckled. "Don't mention it."

The other employees were stunned. They must've not expected a new guy as young as Lenny to be so good with kids.

Nathan, who was no less impressed, clapped his fins once and said, "Alright, people. Kid's happy. The show's over. Back to work." Once the others had returned to aiding the other children, Nathan and Dustin approached Lenny and Nathan said, "Okay, I have to admit even I'm impressed."

"Yeah," said Dustin. "Not only did you know what he wanted, but you got him to say four words in a row. I couldn't even get him to say one."

"Well thanks," said Lenny.

"Seriously, though," said Nathan. "How'd you know what he wanted?"

Lenny smiled in a know-it-all fashion. "You tell me, you're the big brother." Then he swam away, leaving Nathan with a dumb-founded look on his face.

"You know, he's got a point," Dustin said to his older brother. "How come you never gave me toys?"

Nathan's mood went from fluster to anger. He looked Dustin straight in the eye and said, "Oh, you want toys? Okay. How does a prosthetic fin sound?"

_End of chapter_


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter 7_

Word about Lenny's incredible accomplishments with the leopard shark pup spread through the organization like a wild fire. Not a single employee could believe that a rookie, let alone a teenager, managed to make one of their shyest children stop crying. And of course this news reached Kylie and President Patrick, who both needed to see it to believe it.

"For the last time, Sir, you are not dreaming," Lenny said to Patrick for at least the eleventh time. "I really did make him stop crying."

"It's only your first day and you've already shown that you're more dedicated than one third of my workers," Patrick said wide-eyed. "Whenever that kid used to cry, none of them could ever come close to getting him to stop."

"Thanks," said Lenny. "And his name's Lucas."

Patrick's jaw dropped.

"Okay, how did you manage to get his name?" Kylie asked.

"Uh, he told me," Lenny said making it sound like that was an obvious question.

"He's been here two days and he wouldn't even tell me his name," said Kylie.

"Well some kids feel better around certain people," said Lenny.

"Lenny," Patrick said in a stunned voice. "I've got one simple word for you: natural. You keep doing this good with the kids and, who knows? This time next year, we could all be working for you."

Lenny chuckled. "One step at a time, Sir."

Little did either of them know that Patrick's statement would turn out to be true. But we'll get into that later.

Late that night, long after the employees had gone home for the night, Patrick had decided to confront Nathan in order to find out where he had snuck out to the night before and what he had done. Nathan tried to save his own skin by saying he'd just gone out to a dance club with a group of guy friends. Unfortunately for him, Patrick was no idiot. After being demanded the truth over and over again, Nathan nervously spilled his guts. The details are rather unclean, but let's just say alcoholic beverages and a woman or two were involved. Patrick's reaction contained flying furniture, glass and china breaking every ten seconds, and language of a frank and explicit nature. This reprimanding, to put it nicely, went on for over an hour. As it occurred, a relatively large crowd of concerned listeners, who had been kept awake by Patrick's screaming and glass smashing, gathered outside the room. Lenny, Kylie, Dustin, and Patrick's wife Mara, who hoped this fiasco wouldn't end too badly, were among the crowd. As time went by, no one could tell what was scarier: that Patrick was getting louder or that Nathan never said a word the entire time. By the time it ended, it was clear that Nathan was still alive because the last thing Patrick said to him was, "Kiss the family business, because you're out of it!"

After that, it was strangely quiet for about thirty seconds. It was at this point when Mara said to Dustin, "I guess we should go in and see what's happened now."

Dustin didn't like the sound of that one bit. "Mom, are you telling me everything we just heard didn't hint to you that Nathan's in more trouble than he's ever been?"

"Let's just go in and see if we can convince your father to calm down," said Mara.

"Not likely," Dustin said nervously.

Mara turned to face the rest of the crowd. "Everyone else, go back to bed. Everything will be fine here… I hope." She said those last two words under her breath.

Lenny and Kylie, who wanted to avoid any more possible hollering, were among the first few to quickly swim off.

"That may have been the most violent parenting I've ever witnessed," Lenny said as they swam to safety.

"No kidding," Kylie agreed. "Even I've never been that mad at Nathan before."

"I wonder who his replacement in the business is gonna be," Lenny said, trying to make a joke of the whole thing."

"Well, based on what Uncle Patrick said this afternoon, maybe it'll be you."

Lenny was flattered by all the praise he was receiving, but at the same time he was flustered because he never thought he could be President of anything. At least that's what he thought at the moment.

* * *

><p><em>One year later<em>

Before we get to Lenny, I just want to make it clear that Patrick was not kidding when he said Nathan was out of the business. Nathan, though still living in the ship because Mara refused to kick him out, didn't show up for work the next day or any day thereafter. And frankly, Lenny, Kylie, and all the other employees were just fine with that. Dustin would've been happy… if he didn't have to go home to Nathan every night and still be miserable because of him.

Anyway, Lenny had become a bit of a role model to the other employees. Some people even considered him the President of the rookies. He was patient, caring, and helpful to everyone. He could make the screaming children be quiet, the sad children laugh, and he even kept the troublesome children in line. Every child in the lost and found was different, but Lenny's affection was the same for all of them.

Kylie, go fig, noticed how good Lenny was with the kids and thought it was adorable. If there was one thing she looked for in a guy, it was his way with kids. She would stop by Lenny's workstation from time to time to help out. The more she saw him giving his time, duty, and love to the kids, the more attracted she was to him. Lenny's feelings for her, though he was afraid to admit it, were no different. He saw that she too was a natural when it came to childcare. There were three things the two had in common: they loved kids, they secretly loved each other, and they were both afraid to admit it… at least to each other. Other employees took notice of how shy the two became when they saw they were in the same room. When the two weren't looking, the others would whisper to each other, "It's only a matter of time before one of them asks the other out."

One Friday afternoon while Lenny was attending to the needs of a seven-year-old great white girl, Kylie came in to deliver a message to him.

"Hey Lenny," she said rather nervously as she approached him.

Lenny turned and almost yelled when he realized she was finally talking to him. "Uh… hey, Kylie. How's it goin'?"

"Pretty good," Kylie replied. "I hate to interrupt your bonding time with Monica but Uncle Patrick wants to see you in his office."

Lenny was now a little more nervous than before. He'd never been called to Patrick's office before. "Oh, alright then."

Once he was in Patrick's office, Lenny nervously took a seat across from Patrick, who was sitting at his elegant desk.

"Good afternoon, Lenny," Patrick greeted him.

"Afternoon, Sir," Lenny replied.

Patrick could tell by his voice that Lenny thought he was in trouble. "First things first. I suppose you'd like to know why you're here?"

Lenny nodded.

"Well let me put your mind at ease," said Patrick. "You're not in trouble, Son. So wipe that scared look off your face and perk up. What I'm about to tell you is good news."

Lenny sighed happily. "What is it, Sir?"

"Well, Lenny," Patrick began, "It's been a year since you started working in this organization…"

"And a great year too if I might add," Lenny interrupted. "Just lettin' you know. Go on."

Patrick continued. "Since then, I've noticed what an unbelievably gifted young shark you are. I never hear a negative thing be said about you. That's already more than I can say about my idiot sons. You show much more dedication to the business and more importantly the kids."

"Thank you, Sir." Lenny could tell this was leading up to something great.

"As you're no doubt aware, I'll be retiring in a few years," said Patrick. "And ever since Nathan destroyed his chances by screwing around with those girls, I've been trying to find someone to replace him. I've been putting a lot of consideration into this and Son, I think I've found his replacement in you."

Lenny went wide-eyed. "Me?"

Patrick chuckled at this reaction. "That's what I said. I thought about just leaving Dustin in charge of the organization, but I realized he's too timid to handle it all by himself."

"Ain't that the truth?" Lenny said under his breath.

"As for you, I know the organization is called Patrick & Sons and I know you're not my son. But that doesn't matter. I've come to know and even admire a lot about you, Lenny. And I truly believe you've got what it takes to be in charge one day. Would you consider it?"

Lenny didn't even need time to think. "Consider it? Are you kidding me? Of course I'll do it! As long as I still get to see the kids."

"Of course," said Patrick.

"Then you've got yourself a deal, Sir."

Patrick smiled. "Excellent. It's decided then. Starting Monday, you'll be filling in for Nathan and working beside Dustin and me. And when I retire in two years, you two will become co-Presidents of the entire organization."

Lenny joyfully jumped out of his seat. "This is awesome! Thank you so much, Sir. I won't let you down. And to think, when Kylie told me you wanted to see me I thought I was done for."

"Oh speaking of Kylie, she wanted me to give you this." Patrick held out a piece of paper that had been folded to resemble an origami heart. "I'm not an expert but I think she didn't give it to you herself because she got cold fins."

Now Lenny was anxious. He took the paper heart from Patrick, unfolded it, and read the message that Kylie had written on it: _Coffee? Tonight?_ That may have been humorously brief, but it got Lenny excited. Patrick noticed his smiling face and said, "I don't know what she wants, but I assume you two are gonna have a big night out?"

Lenny stopped smiling. "Uh… Maybe… I gotta go. Thanks again, Sir." He turned around and dashed for the door.

"Good luck, Romeo!" Patrick called to him.

Lenny went to Kylie's office and peaked his head through the open door. Kylie was filling out paperwork and was seated with her back facing Lenny. He thought this would be a perfect opportunity to flirt a little. He hovered in the doorway wearing what Oscar would call a "game face" and knocked on the open door to inform her of his presence.

Kylie turned to see who had interrupted her. "Hey," she said happily when she saw Lenny.

"Hey," Lenny said as he swam up to her.

"So what'd Uncle Patrick say?" Kylie asked.

"Ya know, I can't really remember at the moment," he joked. "But I'm sure I'll remember in a few hours. Then I can tell you everything over coffee," he said holding up her heart-shaped note.

Kylie gasped. "So it's a date?"

Lenny nodded. "It's a date."

Kylie squealed and jumped up to hug his neck.

_End of chapter _

_Author's Note: I'm sorry this chapter is relatively late. Finals started at my school and I've been kinda juggling a lot. I'm still wondering how I managed to get this written in two days. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it. _


	8. Chapter 8

_Chapter 8_

A few hours prior to his date with Kylie, Lenny had decided to go for a short swim through the reef to settle his developing nerves. This kind of behavior was to be expected from a guy like him, who hadn't exactly been on many dates before. And it wasn't exactly helpful that this date was with the most beautiful girl he'd ever laid his eyes on. Once or twice, he would say to himself, "Hey, maybe she's just as nervous as I am." This thought did not stay with him long. A girl as beautiful and outgoing as Kylie must've been on plenty of dates before.

Lenny tried to shut his mind to the whole thing. There were still a few hours before he would meet Kylie at the café on the second floor of the shipwreck. He had plenty of time to find something to take his mind off his nerves. No such luck. Everywhere he looked he saw couples holding fins, posters for movies made to attract young lovers, and, this one really made his heart stop, the flower shop. Now he was really in a panic.

"Ah man," Lenny said to himself. "Why didn't I think of this earlier? I'm goin' on a date with Kylie of all people and I never thought about what to give her." He brushed this thought off quickly. "Oh well. Might as well do it old school. Flowers. I've heard that Kylie likes blue carnations." That idea didn't last long either. Kylie was a unique and original free spirit. If Lenny wanted to impress her, he was going to have to think unique. Flowers were too predictable. Maybe jewelry? As if. Like he had enough money for some pearl necklace or whatever.

Then the shop door opened and two high school aged great whites came out. Each of them had a small, clear box that contained an individual corsage.

"You think she'll like this one?" Lenny heard one of them ask his friend.

"Guess we'll just have to find out," the other replied. "You're lucky you got exactly what your date asked for. Abby wants a pink carnation but all that's left is blue. I hope she won't mind."

Lenny's first thought on this conversation was, "It must be Prom night." But then the corsages gave him an idea. He had nearly had a panic attack deciding what he should give to Kylie on their date, flowers alone were too unoriginal, and jewelry was too expensive. A corsage was a combination of both. And the best part was that the shop had Kylie's favorite flower in stock. Lenny speedily dashed into the shop and bought the corsage he knew would make Kylie happy.

At eight o'clock that night, Lenny was anxiously waiting outside the café. He felt so stupid right now. His fins were vacant of the corsage or any gift for that matter. He hadn't lost the corsage. You'll find out why he doesn't have it now later in the chapter. But for now, he was waiting for Kylie to show up… and hoping that when she did show up, she wouldn't think badly of him for having no gift for her on their first date.

When Kylie finally arrived, Lenny stood upright making sure he wasn't slouching. He didn't want her to think he had bad posture. So far, so good. She didn't look disappointed with him not having a present. Lenny inhaled deeply and told himself that the worst was now officially behind him and began to enjoy the night.

"Hey, you," Kylie said with a smile.

"Hey," Lenny said in return. "You look gorgeous."

Kylie scoffed. "I look exactly like I would any other day." She was right of course. She was still wearing the same floral blue scarf she wore every other time Lenny had seen her.

"I know," Lenny replied. "I guess it's just, ya know, seeing you outside of work and all. It's kinda nice."

"As long as we're speaking of work," said Kylie, "are you gonna tell me what Uncle Patrick said today or what?"

"First things first," said Lenny. "Let's go in, grab a table, and get our coffee. Then we can talk." He held the door open for her in a gentlemanly way. "After you, Miss."

Kylie was flattered by his manners. "Thank you, Sir."

After having coffee and sharing the news about Lenny's incredible promotion, the two of them went outside and took a short swim on the ship's boat deck. It was a beautiful night. The full moon illuminated the darkness in such a way that Lenny had never seen before. He couldn't help but notice how beautiful Kylie looked in the pale blue light. Once or twice, she actually caught him staring at her. He would smile nervously and look away quickly feeling silly. She only chuckled.

While the night was still young, the two of them found a couple of deck chairs and decided to lie down and take a breather. They spent a few minutes in silence to catch their breath and then Lenny shyly broke the ice.

"Sure is a nice night, huh?" he asked.

"Maybe the best I've ever seen," Kylie agreed looking up at the full moon. "If I didn't know any better I'd say it was daytime. It's so beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yeah… it is." Lenny was referring to something entirely different. He had once again managed to just glance at Kylie and then become captivated by how she looked in the moonlight.

"Anyway, congratulations on that promotion."

Lenny's trance ended and he regained access to the real world. "Thanks," he said flatly. He cleared his throat and said, "Thanks a lot."

"Are you nervous?"

Lenny thought she meant nervous to be around her. "Uh… just a little. I haven't been on too many dates before and being around a girl…"

Kylie chuckled. "No, I meant are you nervous about becoming co-president."

"…Oh. That." Lenny chuckled and nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah I knew that's what you meant. Uh, no not really. I mean I didn't really see it coming, but no I'm not nervous."

Kylie smiled. "Maybe you didn't see it coming, but we sure did."

"Who's we?"

"Everybody. We all agree that you're the best employee we've ever had because you love the kids so much."

"Well, I wouldn't say _the_ best," said Lenny. "You're pretty good with them too."

"Thanks," said Kylie. "I guess that's what happens when you're the oldest in a family of seven kids."

"Ya know, I remember you telling me that, but I still find it hard to believe," Lenny admitted. "Seven kids and they're all girls?"

"Well, why we're all girls is still a bit of a mystery. As for the big family, I bet you'd like an explanation, huh?"

Lenny nodded. "I'm listening."

Kylie took a deep breath and began telling the origin of her family. "Well it's pretty simple really. My mom, Kara, grew up with six brothers and sisters and loved every minute of it. As for my dad, Kurtis, his only sibling was my uncle Patrick who was a lot older than him. So he spent most of his childhood wishing he had more siblings who were closer to him in age. Mom and Dad ended up meeting through work and after just one hour of talking they realized that they had one major similarity: they both wanted seven kids. And there you have it. The wedding was pretty laid back. Nothing too fancy. Then a year later, they had their first."

"You?" Lenny guessed.

"Yup. Then when I was three, Kandice came along then two years later, Kayla."

"Wait, one quick question," Lenny interrupted. "Does everyone in your family start with K?"

Kylie sighed. "Yes, I was leading up to that."

"Okay, sorry to interrupt. Continue."

"Anyway, it was shortly after this when my dad started hoping that eventually they'd have a boy. Not that he didn't love the three of us, but being the only guy in a family of nine was gonna be weird for him. When my mom became pregnant for the fourth time, she and my dad made a bet. He said that if they had one more girl, he'd eat his pet sea slug. My mom, who was eager to see that happen, agreed to the bet. Then she went into labor and luckily for dad, they had, not one, but two girls. The twins, Karissa and Katrina. So even though it wasn't what Dad meant by 'one more girl', his sea slug was let off the hook. After that, he couldn't care less what the last two babies would be. Two years later, Kelsey was born. She was a tough baby for a girl, so Dad figured she was close enough to a boy. So six girls. Did they have their fins full? Yes. Was it enough? Oh no. Two years later, Kimmy got them to their desired number seven. Thus, our family was both happy and complete."

"Wow," said Lenny. "That is some family."

"Yeah, just wait 'til you meet them. Anyway, enough about my family, what about yours?"

Lenny had hoped she wouldn't ask that. His estranged father and deceased brother were the last people he ever wanted to think about. "Uh, well the thing is," he explained. "I don't feel comfortable talking about my family much."

Kylie gave him a sad face. "You miss them?"

"Not exactly. I do miss my mom, but that's about it. You remember I told you I ran away?"

"Yeah I do," said Kylie. "And I never got to ask you why."

"Well I can explain the reason in two simple words; my dad."

"Ah yes, the mob boss."

Lenny nodded. "He always hated that I was a vegetarian. And when my brother died, I guess everything got worse. I couldn't stay there anymore so I left and I'm never going back."

Kylie put a caring fin on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"For a long time, I lived by what my brother used to tell me. How can a shark be normal if he isn't a killer?" He paused for a moment and said miserably. "Who could ever love a vegetarian shark?"

Kylie sympathetically inched herself a little closer to him. "Maybe another vegetarian shark?" she asked, taking him by the fin.

Lenny, slightly surprised, looked at the position of their fins and then looked her straight in the olive green eyes. What she'd just said made him jump for joy on the inside. "You mean it?" he asked.

"I do," said Kylie.

"Oh wow…" Lenny figured this moment would not be complete without him presenting her with some sort of token of his feelings. "Okay, I wasn't gonna do this but now I really think I have to. Wait here just a quick moment."

"Don't be too long."

Lenny quickly went inside and swam to his room to fetch the corsage he'd bought. He returned barely three minutes later and removed the corsage from its case. "Here, I bought this for you."

Kylie gasped. "Oh, Lenny… Where are the other petals?"

Now you know why Lenny refused to give it to her earlier. It was a blue carnation alright, but only four of its petals were still intact. But just a note, the corsage did not look like that when Lenny bought it.

Now Lenny was nervous all over again. "I, uh, got kinda nervous… and hungry."

Kylie scoffed and playfully shoved him. "You are such a boy."

Lenny laughed. "So, do you not want it or…?" 

"Of course I do," said Kylie. "It may not be a whole flower, but it's from you. And it reminds me that you have a bizarre sense of humor."

Lenny smiled. "Then let's see how it looks on you."

Kylie held out her fin and Lenny fastened the corsage around her wrist. Kylie admired it for a few seconds and then, to Lenny's surprise, plucked one of the few remaining petals right off.

"What are you doing?" Lenny asked.

"Seeing if the taste was worth it," Kylie teased. She popped the petal into her mouth and chewed it. After she swallowed, she smiled in a dreamy sort of way.

"So how was it?" Lenny asked.

"Mm, that may have been the second sweetest thing I've ever tasted."

Lenny looked puzzled. "Second?"

Then it happened. Without any warning whatsoever, Kylie approached his face and kissed him right on the lips. Lenny swore he almost felt his eyes being pulled from his sockets and his heart beating out of his chest. He'd never felt this feeling before in his life. Part of him was shocked and flustered but the other part was intrigued and never wanted this moment to stop. It did though after a few seconds.

"_That_ was the first," Kylie said in a dreamy voice.

Lenny was speechless. He had no idea what he should say to her, so he said nothing. It was clear to him now that he and Kylie were in love and they were both ready to admit it to each other without any nerves present. He returned the dreamy smile and kissed her back on the cheek. Then they nuzzled and Kylie rested her head against his shoulder. This was truly a date neither of them would ever forget.

_End of chapter_


	9. Chapter 9

_Chapter 9_

A few weeks later, Lenny was happily sitting beside Patrick in his office, in Nathan's old seat. He was really starting to get the hang of being one of the guys in charge. The job wasn't at all demanding or even that challenging. All he did was fill out papers, show up to conferences, treat his employees with kindness, and above all continue to be good with the kids. If he were still living on the South Side Reef, his position of being in charge would be much different. It had only been a year since he'd left but his life had turned around in such a brilliant way. In just one year, he'd found a place where he didn't feel misunderstood, an amazing job, and a perfect girlfriend. That's right, you heard me. Girlfriend. Ever since their date, Lenny and Kylie had been pretty much inseparable. If they didn't see each other at work for at least five minutes a day, they'd lose their mind. And Lenny had just realized that he hadn't seen Kylie all day yet. He'd have to see if he could have lunch with her. Before he could put more thought into it, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Patrick said in a raised voice.

The door opened and in came Kylie, whose olive green eyes were, of course, set upon Lenny. She smiled at him and waved to him in a childish manner as she approached her uncle's desk. Lenny returned the gesture. Patrick and Dustin, who had been getting along a lot better since Nathan was no longer around to screw everything up, snickered at the two lovebirds.

"You know I'm right here, so I can see everything you guys do," Kylie said to them.

"Sorry," Dustin said, trying not to laugh.

"What can we do for you, Kylie?" Patrick asked.

"Well provided nobody laughs or makes any comments," Kylie replied, "I'd like to speak to Lenny outside for just a quick second."

"You promise?" Dustin teased. "Because anything that involves you two being together never takes a quick second."

"Very funny, Dustin. But yes, I promise."

"Then he's all yours," said Patrick.

Lenny rose from his seat and followed Kylie out to the hallway. As they closed the door behind them, they could've sworn they heard Patrick and Dustin snickering again. Lenny ignored them and was relieved to finally be with Kylie.

"So what's up?" he asked.

"I wanted to ask you something."

"Anything."

"Well, we've been dating for a few weeks now, and…"

The look on Lenny's face turned suddenly sad. "Y-you're not breaking up with me, are ya?"

Kylie rolled her eyes. "No, silly. It's nothing like that."

Lenny relaxed. "Oh, then what is it?"

"I was just gonna say that I think now's a good time for you to meet my family."

"Uh, as in _right_ now?" Lenny asked, unsure if he should be interrupted from work just for this.

"Of course not, tonight," said Kylie. "I talked to my parents a few days ago and they're really excited to meet you. Plus, I could really use some help. Mom and Dad have an important dinner tonight and I have to look after my sisters. I don't suppose you know of any co-presidents of an organization that works with kids, do you?"

"Oh, I sure do," said Lenny. "And I think he'd be delighted to help you with your sisters."

"Really?"

"Yup. I'll just go back inside and ask Dustin if he's available," Lenny joked.

"Lenny! That's not what I meant!"

Lenny laughed at his joke. "I know what you meant. Don't worry, I'd love to meet your family."

"Great," said Kylie. "But I should warn you, it can be a little crazy with all of them under one roof."

"I can handle crazy," Lenny assured.

* * *

><p>That night, Lenny met up with Kylie and the two made their way to Kylie's family's home. Lenny was expecting them all to live in the ship like most of the sharks did. He realized this wasn't the case when Kylie led him outside.<p>

"Uh, where exactly does your family live?" he asked.

Kylie smiled. "Call them crazy if you want, but they live in the wreck of a yacht a short swim from here. They think living in a huge, luxurious liner would get in the way of family time."

"But you live in the ship," Lenny curiously pointed out.

"Because I work there," Kylie replied. "My parents work somewhere else in the reef."

The rest of the swim took just a few minutes. When they arrived at the yacht that gave shelter to Kylie's family, Lenny hoped he would make a good impression on them. He hadn't exactly made a great first impression on Kylie, Patrick, and certainly not Nathan. But what did that prove? Kylie was now his girlfriend, Patrick was his boss, and Nathan… well he was impressed by Lenny's attitude with kids. That was good enough, right?

Before they went inside, Kylie reminded him, "Be prepared for the craziest."

Lenny scoffed. "Settle down. They're your family, so I already think they're great."

They proceeded to the front door, on which Kylie knocked. Seconds later, the door opened to reveal a couple of great whites who looked like they were in their mid forties. They both had the same olive eyes as Kylie and Lenny had to admit they were relatively good looking for their age. They looked like they were heading somewhere important. The female was wearing an opal necklace and the male was wearing a black necktie.

"There you are, Kylie," the female said, pulling Kylie into a hug.

Kylie returned the hug. "Hi, Mom."

"Welcome home, Princess," the male said, kissing Kylie on the cheek.

"Hi, Dad."

Then Kylie's parents turned their attention to Lenny. "And you must be Lenny," her mom said. "Kylie's told us so much about you. It's so nice to finally meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Ma'am," Lenny replied.

"Oh, please," said Kylie's mom. "Call me Kara."

Kylie's dad approached Lenny and said, "And call me Kurtis. Put her there, Son."

Lenny shook his fin.

"It is so great to finally have another guy in the family," Kurtis said, putting his fin around Lenny's shoulders. "What do ya wanna do first? Play catch? Watch finball? See who can belch the longest?"

"Uh…" That was all Lenny could even think about saying.

"Dad!" Kylie snapped.

"Kurtis," Kara said quietly. "Don't make him think you're weird."

"Don't make him think we're dysfunctional, Kara," Kurtis retorted. "Besides, if we'd had all sons and _Kyle_ started dating a nice young lady, I'm sure you'd feel the same way that I do."

Kara rolled her eyes. "I'm sure I would." She turned to Kylie. "I'm sorry we have to leave so suddenly, but we cannot be late for this dinner."

"It's okay, Mom," Kylie assured her.

"We're just glad you could make it in time," said Kurtis. "We were starting to think we'd have to leave Kandice in charge. And you remember what happened the last time we had to do that, right?"

"That doesn't matter right now," said Kylie. "I'm here and you guys finally got to meet Lenny."

"And we're so sorry we couldn't stay to know him longer," said Kara.

"Not a problem," said Lenny. "It was nice meeting you too."

"I knew I'd like him," said Kurtis. "C'mon, Kara. We'd better not keep 'em waiting."

"You two have a good evening," Kara said to Kylie and Lenny. "And don't let Kelsey go near anything sharp," she added.

"You have my word," said Kylie. "Bye Mom, bye Dad."

After Kara and Kurtis left, Kylie and Lenny went inside. Kylie was given a loud, lively welcome by her six sisters. Lenny was intimidated by just how loud they were altogether, but once Kylie finally got them to settle down, they seemed much more pleasant. Now that none of them were jumping around trying to get a hug from their big sis, Lenny could finally see them all face to face. They all had the same olive green eyes as Kylie and their parents. Though they were all pretty, Lenny still thought Kylie was the most beautiful in the family, and not just because the others were all minors. Kylie introduced each of them in order by age. Throughout the evening, Lenny got to learn a lot about them.

Kandice was closest to Kylie in both age and relationship. She was seventeen and was the only "hippy" in a family of free spirits. She wore a teal green headband around her temples and a peace medallion around her neck. She came off as a bit eccentric. The first thing she did when she saw Lenny was compliment him for having such a "beautiful aura". She was also a music appreciator. She could sing and play guitar. Her music, she said, always came from the heart. Her face was always relaxed and "her aura was always green".

Lenny had instantly taken a liking to fifteen-year-old Kayla, who seemed a lot more calm and practical than the rest of her family. Plus, she was the only one who wore glasses. Lenny felt like he could relate to her because she seemed so different compared to the others. Just like he'd always felt different compared to his family. Kayla wasn't exactly what one would call social. When Kylie introduced her to Lenny, all she did was give a half smile and look away. When Lenny asked if he'd done something wrong, Kylie explained that Kayla had been feeling insecure lately because her glasses were brand new and they made her feel like a freak. Lenny hoped she would come out of her shell at some point during the night.

The fourteen-year-old twins, Karissa and Katrina, may have been identical, but it was almost scary to see how much, or rather how little, they had in common. They say that all girls are an even mixture of sugar and spice, but in the case of these two, Karissa was all sugar and Katrina was all spice. Karissa was perky, bubbly, talkative, and the perfect example of a girly girl. Lenny could tell she was either a current cheerleader or a future one. She seemed to be a huge fan of the color pink because of her pink choker and numerous pink beaded bracelets. Katrina was, to be frank, gothic, hardcore, and conservative with her feelings. When Lenny first saw her, he thought she'd gotten in a fight because of her darkened eyes. It turned out she was just wearing a lot of eyeliner. She wore a choker just like Karissa's except hers was black, and instead of beaded bracelets, she wore numerous black jelly bracelets on either wrist. To Lenny, the twins seemed like the shoulder angel and devil of the same girl.

Kelsey was twelve and very much a tomboy. She displayed a strong love of sports, practical jokes, getting dirty, and eating. Her favorite color was orange, which was notable by her orange arm warmers. She was easily the most rambunctious in the family. I'm sorry to say that she didn't really have good manners. She was loud, often pushy, and let's just say other people's feelings weren't on her radar. You'll know what I mean later on.

And last, but not least, was Kimmy who, though being ten, displayed a strong love for style. She wore a multicolored scarf around her neck that apparently she'd both designed and knitted herself. It made Lenny wonder if she'd designed and made the whole family's clothes as well. Kimmy giggled at the idea and said she was still in her scarf phase. But at the moment, she was working up to headbands. Lenny could picture her thirty years from now working for a big time fashion company.

The whole evening was so exhausting because this huge family of free spirits was so noisy and lively. But overall, Lenny had enjoyed meeting and getting to know his girlfriend's family.

At about ten o'clock, the younger girls were either in bed, in their rooms writing a new song, or just settling down for the night. This meant Lenny and Kylie finally had a while to be alone. They were sitting together on the living room couch watching a movie. Suddenly, Kayla came into their presence and swam across the room at a fast pace looking like she was about to cry. She was going so fast that she paid no mind at all to Lenny and Kylie. If they didn't know better, it was as if she didn't even know they were there.

"Kayla?" Kylie said, trying to get her attention. It was too late; Kayla had already disappeared into another room.

"Wonder what that was about," said Lenny.

Just then, Kelsey burst into the room. "Kayla?" she called. "Kayla, come back! It was just a joke! Hey!"

Kylie angrily grabbed her tween sister by the fin and demanded, "What did you say to her?"

"Nothing that bad," said Kelsey. "I just told her that her glasses make her eyes look at least four times bigger."

"Kelsey!" Kylie barked. "As if she wasn't feeling bad enough about her glasses! And this is no way to behave in front of my new boyfriend."

"Uh technically, Kayla and I were in the other room when I said…"

"I don't care," said Kylie. "You don't make people cry when we have company."

Lenny tried to calm her down. "It's okay, Kylie. Ya know, maybe you should go see if Kayla's alright."

"Come with me?" Kylie asked.

"Sure."

Kylie and Lenny left Kelsey alone in the living room and went to find Kayla. They could tell they were getting close when they found her glasses on the floor in the hallway. Lenny picked them up.

"Are they broken?" Kylie asked.

Lenny inspected the glasses. "No, but something tells me she wants 'em to be."

Kylie swam up to the door the glasses had been closest to and knocked on it. "Kayla?" she said in a raised voice. "Kayla, can you hear me?"

"Go away!" replied Kayla's muffled voice.

Kylie ignored this order and said, "Kayla, I don't think it's wise for you to leave your glasses lying around in the hallway. They could get broken out here."

"Exactly!" Kayla wept. "Like Kelsey's nose, I want them to get broken!"

"See?" Lenny whispered.

"I hate those stupid things!" Kayla continued. "I'm never wearing them again and you can't make me!"

"Look, I'll deal with Kelsey later," said Kylie. "But right now I'd like to discuss this with you in a more social way. As in a way that allows me to see you face to face."

"There's nothing to discuss, Kylie! I hate those glasses and I hate Kelsey! I want them both out of my life forever!"

Kylie rubbed her temples in an annoyed fashion. "Kayla, you're blind without these. You can't go around squinting all the time just because Kelsey's a little pest."

Kayla was silent for a moment, which indicated that she was thinking. "Maybe I'd consider wearing them if Mom and Dad signed Kelsey up for adoption."

"Been there, done that," said Kylie. "We've all tried to convince them to, but they're keeping her."

"Then I'll stick to a life of squinting!"

"Kayla…"

"NO!"

Kylie opened her mouth to speak again.

Lenny stopped her by putting his fin on her shoulder. "Maybe I should talk to her," he offered.

"You think you can?" Kylie asked quietly.

"If I can make a four-year-old kid stop screaming, I think I can handle a weeping fifteen-year-old girl."

Kylie smiled. "Thank you so much. You're a saint." She kissed him on the cheek, wished him luck, and then left to find and deal with Kelsey.

Lenny took a deep breath and pushed Kayla's door open. He was glad she hadn't locked it.

Kayla was lying on her bed with her back facing the door. She'd heard the door open but clearly hadn't seen who the intruder was. "Go away, Kylie," she said in a shaky voice.

"It's not Kylie, it's me," said Lenny.

Kayla turned around to face him. Apparently her tearstained eyes and astigmatism didn't prevent her from telling who it was. "Oh, hi," she said in a moping tone.

Lenny held her glasses out to her, hoping she wouldn't swat them out of his fin. "I thought you might want these back."

"You thought wrong then," said Kayla. "I wouldn't want those if it was the choice between them and a piousness sea serpent."

Wow, she must've really hated them. Lenny took a seat next to her on the bed. "Don't you think this is kinda sad?"

"What?"

"Hiding yourself just 'cause your little sister can't hold her tongue?"

Kayla sniffed. "Don't you think you'd act like this if you felt the way I did? Nobody in my family has ever needed glasses before, not even my grandparents. I feel like I stick out like a sour fin, in my own family. Do you have any idea what that's like?"

Lenny was silent for a moment, and then said, "Yeah, believe it or not I do." Kayla looked at him in disbelief. "I do know what it's like to be different. And I know what it's like to have a family member who looks down on you 'cause of the thing that makes you special. But there's a difference between my situation and yours."

"What's that?" Kayla asked.

"Kelsey's younger than you. If she says something that offends you, you have to just shake it off and remind yourself and her who's boss. Honestly, I wish I'd had that luxury. But I was always the youngest. I had to be the one putting up with being teased and having to live with what my brother said to me. You don't realize how lucky you are."

Kayla looked down to the floor. "I know I shouldn't be taking any of her crap," she admitted. "But she's always been tougher than me."

"That shouldn't matter," said Lenny. "Nothing she says or does to you should matter. You can't help that your eyesight isn't what it used to be. If there's one thing I've learned since I left my home, it's never let anyone make you think you're not special just because you're different, and that includes twelve-year-old pests." He held her glasses out to her once again. "Here. Take these and wear them proudly. And if they do make your eyes look four times bigger don't be embarrassed. It means people will be able to see how lovely your eyes are."

Kayla looked down at her glasses and reluctantly took them from Lenny's fin. "Why are you being so nice to me? You don't even know me."

Lenny smiled. "Three reasons. A, because as previously stated, I can relate to you. B, because helping kids is what I do best. And C, and most importantly, because you're Kylie's kid sister. She's the most amazing girl I've ever met and she's got a much better family than I did. I became involved with anything you do when I started dating her. Now go on, put 'em on."

Kayla looked at her glasses again and slowly put them on. At first she felt doubtful of the way they looked and felt, but Lenny continued to encourage.

"Much better," he said with a smile.

"You think so?" Kayla asked.

"I know so."

Kayla got up from her bed, swam up to her vanity, and stared at herself in the mirror.

"I know I can't make you wear them," said Lenny. "That decision's yours alone. But lemme give you some advice. Choose wisely." He smiled at her again and left the room.

Kayla looked back at her reflection and put deep consideration into everything Lenny had told her.

_End of chapter_


	10. Chapter 10

_Chapter 10_

Over the next two years, Lenny was falling more in love with Kylie and becoming more attached to her family. Ever since his little talk with Kayla, she'd become much more confident about her glasses. She felt happy whenever Lenny was around. She believed that he'd saved her in a way she couldn't describe. Saved her from living a shameful life of sadness and humiliation. To her and the rest of the family, Lenny had become a hero. Except maybe for Kelsey, who still had a lot of growing up to do.

Kylie's feelings for Lenny had grown drastically over the two-year period as well. Every day that she spent with him was like a day at the beach… or wherever sharks go on vacation. She was finding out more and more about him every time they were together, even though he still refused to discuss his family with her or anybody for that matter. But she respected his privacy and he loved her all the more for that.

They were both convinced that they had found the people they wanted to spend the rest of their lives with. They loved each other, they knew each other like the backs of their fins, and they almost never fought. The only fighting they ever did was the play kind. They were both positive that their feelings for each other were much more than silly crushes. These feelings were real. And since they were now both twenty-two, Lenny figured the time was approaching for him to ask Kylie for her fin in marriage. There were just two things he needed to do first; earn enough money for an engagement bracelet, and make sure he could propose without being nervous. He knew both would happen shortly since Patrick would be retiring soon. And once that happened, Lenny and Dustin would be in charge. By then, money for an engagement bracelet would be the easiest thing in the world to come by.

Patrick threw a big party to celebrate his twenty-seven years as president. Just about every shark that worked in the organization would be attending. Even Nathan, who Mara had forced Patrick to give an invitation to, would be there. Nathan's life had really gone downhill since Patrick had forced him out of the business. Of course, that's likely to happen after one has been fired from the wealthiest business in the entire shipwreck. But it was far worse for Nathan than anyone could imagine. It turned out he'd become a father. That's right. One of his little girlfriends had gotten pregnant the night before he was booted from the business. And Nathan, being the father, was forced to stay with her and help raise the baby. Nathan hadn't exactly been a pleasant sight before, but now he was by no means easy to look at.

Lenny and Kylie briefly saw Nathan at Patrick's party with his fiancée, Phoebe, and their screaming two-year-old son, Nathan Junior. Phoebe had absolutely no class whatsoever. She was sloppy, trashy, wore way too much makeup, would often belch after taking a sip from her drink, and treated just about everybody, especially Nathan, like a pile of rocks.

"Nathan!" That's how began just about every sentence the entire night; by belting Nathan's name in her nasally, high-pitched voice. Sometimes Nathan would be standing right next to her and she'd still holler at him. "Nathan! Get me a drink!" "Nathan! Hold my purse while I go to the can!" "Nathan! Junior's crying again!"

Nathan Junior wasn't much better than his mother. He was the loudest toddler Lenny had ever heard and Nathan and Phoebe did practically nothing to make him stop screaming. Within the first half hour of the party, the dysfunctional family was the center of everyone's attention, but not in a good way.

"I feel kinda sorry for Nathan," Lenny whispered to Kylie.

"I feel sorry for the whole family," Kylie whispered back. "That kid's gonna end up as horrible as his parents."

"Maybe worse if he's being raised by both of 'em."

Lenny was truly becoming grateful for where he was going in life. Nathan was just about on Rock Bottom. He didn't have a sea dollar to his name, his wife was trashy, his son was out of control, he had to support both of them, and his father refused to help him financially. The way Lenny saw it, it seemed like no one could ever have it worse than Nathan. Hopefully it would be different with Kylie.

Later on during the party, Patrick asked Lenny to join him and Dustin in the middle of the room. It was time for Patrick to announce both his retirement and his heirs.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he announced to his guests. "If I could have a moment of your time, please?" The room fell silent and soon all eyes were on Patrick. "Thank you. Now I think you all know what we're celebrating here tonight. There's a number of ways that I could say it, but I think I'll just keep short and sweet; I'm gettin' old."

Everyone in the room broke out into laughter.

"I know, right?" Patrick joked. "I must look at least twenty years younger than I really am. Unfortunately, I won't be around forever. That means that my days of running our successful Lost and Found Organization are about to come to a standstill."

The guests all did a group aw.

"But," Patrick continued, "I just want to take a moment to say that these last twenty-seven years have been some of the best of my life. I love helping the little kiddies and I love to see them smile. I'll miss working here. But I also would like to say that the sharks I'm leaving in charge of the organization are just as dedicated and helpful to all lost children as I have ever been. And it is my pleasure now to introduce them to you all." He turned to Dustin and placed a fin on his shoulder. "First, I'd like you all to give a warm applause to co-president number one, my son, who has just turned twenty-six, Dustin."

Dustin smiled as the guests cheered at the sound of his name. Mara's applause was easily the loudest and longest.

Then Patrick turned his attention to Lenny and continued his announcement. "Now as we all know, this organization is called Patrick and Sons. Unfortunately a few years back, my other son Nathan got himself, for reasons that do not concern you, removed from the business."

Everyone who surrounded Nathan gave him an unpleasant look. The smirk he shot back at them was no more pleasant.

"But there's no need to worry," Patrick continued. "Because miraculously I was able to find the perfect replacement in this young shark, who I'd like to tell you about. For those of you who don't know, his name is Lenny. Three short years ago, he came into my office hoping and praying for a job in this organization. When I first laid eyes on him, I didn't know the first thing about him. But being the merciful shark I am, I let him stay and work here. And I admit at first I had a few doubts about him, mainly because of the noticeable attraction he'd instantly taken to my niece."

An eruption of laughter broke out all across the room. Lenny and Kylie blushed and hoped Patrick would just get to the point.

"But the very next day," Patrick continued, "I noticed that Lenny was and to this day still is a truly great sport when it comes to kids. Any doubts I'd had about him vanished and I knew then that he was something special. Lenny, you first came into my office a nervous, timid lad. And now three years later here you are, about to be running this entire organization alongside my son. I wish you luck, Son."

Lenny smiled. "Thank you, Sir."

Patrick turned back to the crowd and said, "Let's all give it up for Lenny."

The crowd cheered and applauded. Lenny saw Kylie blow him a kiss. He couldn't believe where he was right now. When he was first kicked out of his home, he thought his life was over. But in just three years he'd become co-president of the best organization he could ever hope to work for and, if she said yes, he would become the future husband of the most beautiful girl he could ever dream of. As the guests continued to applaud for him, he could only help but smile.

* * *

><p>A few weeks later, Lenny had earned enough money to buy Kylie a white gold, six-karat diamond engagement bracelet. He'd seen its picture in a magazine and thought it was perfect for the girl he loved. To his relief, the jeweler still had plenty of them in stock. Lenny bought it and exited the store smiling at the decorative box the bracelet had been wrapped in. He was finally asking Kylie for her fin in marriage… tonight!<p>

Kylie had invited Lenny to her parents' home for dinner that night. Lenny thought this was all the better. He hadn't told Kurtis or Kara that he was about to propose to their daughter, so he figured proposing to her in front of her whole family would be a surprise for everyone. He decided to wait after dinner for the big moment. While everyone was at the table eating, he vaguely announced that he had something important to ask Kylie afterwards and he wanted the whole family to be there when he asked it. Until then, he made sure to keep the bracelet hidden from Kylie and her family, especially the little snoop Kelsey.

"Alright, Lenny," Kylie said once dinner was over. "You have my attention, what'd you want to ask me?"

"Uh…" For the first time in over two years, Lenny was actually nervous about talking to Kylie. He hadn't exactly practiced what he was going to say to her and her whole family was watching. He figured he might as well buy himself a little more time. "Can we take this in the living room?"

"No problem, Boy-o," said Kurtis.

The ten sharks relocated to the living room, which unfortunately for Lenny took less time than anticipated. He still hadn't managed to settle his nerves or come up with the right words. 'Kylie, will you marry me?' sounded way too old school. Plus, he didn't want to just jump right to the point. He wanted to lead up to it in a romantic, special way.

"Is this better, Lenny?" Kylie asked, taking a seat by Kandice on the sofa.

"Yeah," said Lenny. "But actually I need you to stand up for this."

"… Okay," Kylie said curiously. She got up from the sofa and joined Lenny while the rest of the family was seated. "Better?"

Lenny nodded. "Perfect."

"Great, so what is it?"

"Uh… well… it's…" Lenny was gulping between every word. He just couldn't put it the way he'd always dreamed he could.

"Are you okay, Lenny?" Kandice asked. "I'm detecting nervousness in your aura."

Lenny paused to reflect his slight disappointment in being interrupted. "Kandice, no offense but now isn't the best time for auras."

"Oh, gotcha," Kandice said with a wink. "Continue."

"Thanks," said Lenny. "So Kylie, it's been… a while since we started dating… and… I just… I think…"

Once more, he was interrupted. This time by a heart stopping, banshee-like scream coming from Karissa.

"Karissa, what in the world is the matter?" Kara asked.

"I can't believe you, Lenny," Karissa said looking partially angry. "You're breaking up with my sister? And you're doing it the same way my ex-boyfriend did last year. He's behind this, isn't he? He won't rest until every heart in this family's broken, will he?"

Lenny and the rest of the family only stared at her.

"What?" she asked. "Am I off?"

"Way off, Karissa," said Lenny.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, Lenny," said Karissa. "I guess I just never know when the worst time to talk is."

"No you don't," replied Katrina, who was always annoyed by everything her twin did.

"Alright, girls," Kurtis said to his daughters. "No more interruptions. Lenny?"

"Thank you." Lenny turned to Kylie once again, aware that there was no way he could be interrupted. So he knew he had to make this count. "Okay, Kylie. I'm ready to tell you that… I've been thinking for a while and… Actually if that were the case, I'd know how to put it right now, so…"

"Ugh, who cares how you put it?" Kelsey interrupted. "Can't you just say it and get it over with?"

Now Lenny lost patience. "Ugh! How am I supposed to propose if everyone keeps interrupting me?"

The entire family, even Kelsey, went wide-eyed when Lenny said this. Not because he was vaguely telling them to shut up but because apparently none of them were expecting his news to be this big.

Lenny chuckled nervously. "Well, I guess the catfish is outta the bag. That wasn't exactly how I wanted to break the ice though…"

Kylie threw herself into Lenny's fins and kissed him passionately. "Yes!" she said happily. "Yes! Yes! I'll marry you!"

Lenny smiled. "Seriously?"

"Wait, hold up," said Kelsey. "I know this is sweet and all, but what kinda guy proposes to his girl without some kinda bling?"

Lenny smirked and produced the cased engagement bracelet from behind his back. He then turned to Kylie, who was on the edge of hyperventilating, opened the case, removed the bracelet and fastened it around Kylie's wrist. "Any more complaints, Kelsey?"

"Uh, yeah," Kelsey said matter-of-factly. "When's the big day?"

The other girls all erupted with questions for Kylie. "Can I sing at the wedding?" "Can I be a bride's maid?" "Can I be in charge of decorations?"

Kylie lifted her fins to calm them down. "Girls, girls, please. One thing at a time." She turned to her parents. "Mom, Dad, what do you guys think?"

Kara looked like she was about to burst into happy tears. Kurtis placed his fin around her shoulders and said, "We think you two will make a very happy couple."

"My little Kylie is getting married," Kara wept happily.

"Way too over-the-top, Mom," Katrina said, rolling her eyes.

_End of chapter_

_Author's note: Okay, so I know you're probably wondering, "Engagement _bracelet_? Whatever happened to rings?" Answer: Do sharks have fingers? Of course not. So bracelet it was. _


	11. Chapter 11

_Chapter 11_

The next several weeks were extremely busy for everyone. Why? Wedding plans. Lenny and Kylie wanted to be married as soon as possible, but they wanted their wedding to be all but small. They both agreed that they wanted a real wedding, as opposed to a ten-minute ceremony in a small chapel with only Kylie's family watching. They wanted to have the wedding of the year in the ship's church room with all their friends there. But they didn't want it to be too traditional. They wanted their wedding to be romantic but also musical, colorful, and fun for everyone who attended.

Dustin would be Lenny's best man. Kurtis would, of course, be swimming Kylie down the aisle and giving her away. Kylie's sisters, in addition to being the bridesmaids, helped plan the wedding using their creative minds. Kandice was put in charge of the band since she had many friends who played just about every instrument known to man (or shark). Kimmy, though now being twelve, was in charge of what the bridesmaids, and believe it or not the bride herself, would be wearing. Since they obviously couldn't wear dresses, Kimmy decided to design headbands for all the girls. Each headband was unique in color and decorated with small diamonds and a large carnation at the left side. In addition to the headbands, each girl would wear a matching beaded necklace. Kimmy made each of the girls' accessories a different color depending on what they typically wore. Kandice's accessories were green, Kayla's were blue, Karissa's were pink, Katrina's were black (with a red carnation), Kelsey's were orange, and Kimmy's were multicolored. Each bridesmaid would also be holding a bouquet of blue carnations as they made their way down the aisle singing. That's right, singing. Kylie's whole family would be singing "Marry You (Glee Cast Version)" as they went down the aisle. And luckily, every one of them could sing. At the reception, which would be in the dining room, Lenny and Kylie would be displaying their own vocal skills in a duet with Kylie's sisters singing backup. This was truly going to be a wedding no one would forget. And just to avoid any drama on their special day, Nathan and his despicable family would not be attending.

After weeks of planning, the big day finally arrived. Lenny was examining himself in the mirror in his bedroom, making sure his bowtie was on straight. He was also practicing his smile. He hadn't seen Kylie all day because it was bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the ceremony. He was positive she would look more beautiful than he'd ever seen her and he didn't want to make a weird face when his bride looked so stunning. As he practiced his smile, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in."

Still looking in the mirror, Lenny saw the door open and Dustin's reflection enter the room.

"Hey, Buddy," Dustin greeted him with a big smile. "You psyched for the big moment?"

Lenny sighed. "You can't even imagine. I'm about to be married to the most awesome and beautiful girl in the shape of a great white."

Dustin chuckled. "I'm not really sure how respond to that seeing as she's my cousin. But regardless, I'm really happy for you both."

"Thanks," said Lenny. "And thanks for being my best man."

"No problem," said Dustin. "Oh and before we go out there and do this thing, I have something to ask you."

"Shoot."

"Would you happen to be familiar with this lovely couple?" Dustin asked, gesturing to the door.

Lenny looked to the door and could not believe who was there. "Oscar? Angie?"

"Ya see, Ang? I told ya he'd remember us," Oscar said to Angie. "Lenny, man, how's it hangin'?"

Lenny swam up to Oscar and the two old friends gave each other a high fin.

"I figured you'd know them," said Dustin. "They showed up about half-an-hour ago and wanted to know where you were."

"What are you guys doin' here?" Lenny asked happily.

"A little birdie told us you were getting married," replied Angie.

"How'd you find out?" Lenny asked in a surprised tone.

"After you left, Angie and I started to worry about you," Oscar explained. "We wanted to make sure you were alright, so Sykes sent Bernie and Ernie out to find ya. It took a kinda long time, but eventually they found ya here."

"Then how come I never saw them?" Lenny asked.

"We told them to keep out of sight," said Angie. "That way if we ever came to visit you, it'd be a surprise."

"Well, ya did a great job then," said Lenny. "You know you came to visit me on my wedding day?"

"Course we do," said Oscar. "We're here for the wedding."

"But you guys don't have invitations."

"They won't need them," said Dustin. "We can easily fit two more fish into the church room."

Lenny smiled. "Dustin, you're the best."

"It's no trouble," said Dustin. "Now I'll leave you three alone to catch up. But don't be too long, the ceremony starts in twenty minutes."

"We'll be there," said Lenny.

Dustin left the room and the three old friends continued to socialize.

"So, Lenny," said Angie. "Dustin told us you're big stuff around here."

"Well… a little," Lenny said, trying not to gloat. "He and I are co-presidents of a lost and found organization that helps kids. No biggy."

"Uh, huge-y," said Oscar. "We thought you'd be livin' under a rock in some wasteland somewhere. This is a complete contrary."

"Yeah, well enough about me. What've you guys been up to?"

Oscar smiled. "Why don't ya take a look at Angie's finger and tell me?"

Angie held up her fin and showed Lenny a magnificent wedding ring. "Can you believe Oscar picked it out?" she asked.

"You guys are married too?"

"And there's more," Oscar winked. "Tell 'im, Ang."

"I'm pregnant!" Angie squealed.

"Whoa," said Lenny. "If the marriage part wasn't surprisin', that part sure was."

Angie proudly rubbed her stomach. "We found out about a month ago," she said happily.

"Can ya believe it, Len?" said Oscar. "I'm gonna be a daddy!"

"That is awesome," said Lenny. "Are you guys still working at the Wash?"

"Work at it?" asked Oscar. "I'm its manager."

"And I resigned when I found out about the baby," said Angie. "We can't both be working if we're going to have a baby."

"You plannin' to have kids, Lenny?" Oscar asked.

Lenny thought for a second. "Honestly, Kylie and I haven't put much thought into…"

"Oh yeah!" Oscar interrupted. "Tell us about your bride!"

"Yeah, we're dying to meet her," said Angie.

Lenny looked at his clock and said, "Well I don't really have time right now, but I'll introduce her to you guys at the reception."

"Fair enough," said Oscar. "But at least tell me she's fine."

Lenny chuckled. "Okay, you remember that girl that made out with when you were the Shark Slayer?"

Angie gagged.

"Don't talk about L-O-L-A in fronta Angie," Oscar whispered. "But yeah, go on."

"Well, multiply her by ten, and she still won't be better lookin' than Kylie," Lenny continued.

Oscar's eyes widened. "You serious?"

Lenny nodded.

"Dude!"

* * *

><p>At last it was time for the ceremony. The large church room, beautifully decorated with blue and white, was packed with sharks and fish alike. Dustin had managed to get Oscar and Angie a place to sit on the groom's side. Every guest was seated. The big moment was about to happen. Everyone fell silent when the band started to play.<p>

_Band plays "Marry You (Glee Cast Version)"_

As the music began, Kurtis entered the room and started singing as he swam down the aisle.

Kurtis: _"It's a beautiful night, we're lookin' for somethin' dumb to do, _

_Hey baby, I think I wanna marry you." _

Kara enters: _"Is it the look in your eyes, or is it this dancing juice? _

_Who cares, Baby? I think I wanna marry you." _

Kandice enters: _"Well I know this little chapel on the boulevard we can go, no one will know." _

Kurtis: _"Oh c'mon, Girl." _

Kandice: _"Who cares if we're trashed? Gotta pocket full of cash, we can blow. Shots of patron." _

Kurtis: _"And it's on, Girl."_

Kurtis and Kandice: _"Don't say no, no, no, no, no,_

_Just say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, _

_And we'll go, go, go, go, go." _

Kurtis: _"If you're ready, like I'm ready!" _

Kayla enters: _"'Cause it's a beautiful night, we're lookin' for somethin' dumb to do, _

_Hey Baby, I think I wanna marry you." _

Karissa and Katrina enter, dancing with ribbons: _"Is it the look in your eyes, or is it this dancing juice? _

_Who cares, Baby? I think I wanna marry you." _

Kurtis: _"I'll go get a ring." _

Kelsey enters: _"Let the choir bells sing, like ooooh. So whatcha wanna do?"_

Kurtis: _"Let's just run, Girl._

_If we wake up and we wanna break up," _

(Kimmy enters and joins in) _"That's cool, no I won't blame you."_

Kurtis: _"It was fun, Girl." _

Whole family: _"Don't say no, no, no, no, no, _

_Just say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, _

_And we'll go, go, go, go, go."_

Kurtis: _"If you're ready, like I'm ready!" _

Whole family: _"'Cause it's a beautiful night, we're lookin' for somethin' dumb to do,_

_Hey Baby, I think I wanna marry you." _

At this point, Kurtis sat Kara down in the very front row.

Girls: _"Is it the look in your eyes, or is it this dancing juice? _

_Who cares, Baby? I think I wanna marry you!" _

Then Lenny entered the room dancing to the music as he made his way down the aisle. All eyes were on him as he did so.

Girls: _"Just say I doooo." _

Kandice: _"Tell me right now, Baby!" _

Kimmy: _"Tell me right now, Baby!" _

Kelsey: _"Baby!" _

By now, Lenny was at the alter with the girls on both sides of him.

Girls: _"Just say I doooo!" _

Kayla: _"Tell me right now, Baby!"  
><em>

Karissa: _"Tell me right now, Baby!"_

Katrina: _"Baby, Oh!" _

Lenny couldn't tell if the music had stopped altogether or if it had simply stopped in his mind, but whatever the case his brain suddenly turned to putty when Kylie entered the room. Beautiful was not enough to describe how she looked. She wore a headband very similar to the bridesmaids, only much more dazzling. It was white in color with a white carnation and two long ribbons flowing down her left side. Her necklace was more of a chain of jewel-studded flowers instead of beads like the others. And she wore pale blue eye shadow that matched her bouquet of carnations perfectly. Lenny wasn't the only one captivated. Oscar almost started to drool after looking at her for half a second, which Angie noticed and was forced to close his mouth for him. Kurtis walked Kylie down the aisle as the song started to end.

Girls: _"'Cause it's a beautiful night, we're lookin' for somethin' dumb to do, _

_Hey Baby, I think I wanna marry you." _

The father and daughter reached the front of the alter. Kurtis kissed Kylie on the cheek and took a seat next to Kara. Kylie slowly approached Lenny with a love struck look on her face.

Girls: _"Is it the look in your eyes, or is it this dancing juice? _

_Who cares, Baby? I think I wanna marry you!" _

The bride and groom took each other by the fins and the crowd applauded.

_End of chapter. _

_Song used: Marry You (Glee Cast Version). _

_Author's Note: I do not own the song. Also, Chapter 12 will be about the reception. _


	12. Chapter 12

_Chapter 12 _

After the ceremony, everyone relocated to the ship's dining room for the reception. The dinner menu consisted of all vegetarian dishes. In every food option, the main ingredient was kelp. So it was a good thing every guest was either a fish or a kelp-eating shark. The wedding cake was three layers tall with green kelp-flavored icing and blue frosting flowers.

After the bride and groom cut the cake, the band started playing love songs. Pretty soon it was time for the traditional father-daughter dance. Lenny excused Kylie so she could go onto the dance floor and dance with Kurtis as the band played "What a Wonderful World".

While Kylie danced with her father, Lenny was once again united with Oscar and Angie. Oscar could barely keep his eyes off Kylie as she danced.

"Man, how does a guy like you get hooked up with a chick like that?" he said teasingly to Lenny.

Lenny shrugged. "I guess good things happen to those who maintain a positive attitude."

"Yeah," Angie said to Oscar. "And you should know, Oscar, since you gained a positive attitude and now married to me and about to be the father of my child."

"I know, Ang," said Oscar. "But there's no denyin' that Lenny's married to a super fine shark."

Angie, slightly jealous, rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. She's pretty."

"Pretty?" Oscar repeated. "Angie, shark or no shark, ya can't look at a girl like her and say she's just pretty. A face like hers can't be called anything less than fine, fly, or…"

"As you can see, Lenny," Angie interrupted, "Oscar is still just as superficial as ever."

"Yeah, I can see that," said Lenny. "And he's still got some nerve on him considering he's clearly attracted to my girl."

Oscar smiled. "Simmer down, you two. I'm just playin'."

"Yeah, well sometimes the things you 'just play' about are better left unsaid," said Angie. "I don't know how many times I've told you that."

Lenny chuckled. "You guys really haven't changed, have you?"

"That ain't a problem, is it?" Oscar asked.

Lenny thought and then said, "No. Not at all."

At that moment, the band stopped playing and Kylie and Kurtis had finished their special dance. The crowd applauded and the father and daughter made their way off the dance floor.

"So can we meet her now?" Angie asked Lenny.

"Yeah, sure," Lenny replied. He shouted to get Kylie's attention. "Kylie!"

Kylie heard him and looked in his direction.

"C'mere!"

Kylie smiled at Kurtis, indicating that she was leaving, and made her way over to her new husband. "Hey, Baby," she said lovingly.

"Hey," said Lenny. They kissed briefly and Lenny made the introduction. "Kylie, these are my old friends I told you about, Oscar and Angie. Guys, this is my perfect wife Kylie."

"It's so nice to meet you," Angie said to Kylie.

"Likewise," said Kylie. "Lenny's told me so much about you, especially you Mr. 'Sharkslayer'." The last statement was aimed at Oscar.

"Ha, nowadays they call me the Heartslayer," said Oscar in a smooth voice.

Angie looked confused. "Who's 'they'? I sure don't call you that."

Oscar scowled. "Angie, can't you ever back me up, even just once?"

Kylie chuckled. "It's fine, I'll take your word for it."

"Ya will?" Oscar asked. "Sweet! Anyway, this is some wedding you guys have thrown together."

"I'll say," said Angie. "Our wedding was nothing like this. I'm starting to feel jealous. It took me forever to find any bridesmaids and you managed to find six in just a few weeks? How'd you do that?"

Kylie smiled. "They're my sisters."

Oscar and Angie's jaws dropped.

"My thoughts exactly," Lenny chuckled.

"Dang, you gotta big family," said Oscar.

"I've been told," said Kylie.

"And they're all singers?" said Angie. "Now I'm impressed."

"And you're gonna hear them again tonight," said Kylie. "Actually, in just a few minutes. Lenny, we'd better get ready."

"You guys are singing too?" Oscar asked.

"Yeah," said Lenny. "And I almost forgot all about it. We're on in ten minutes. C'mon, Kylie."

"It was nice meeting you both," Kylie said quickly to Oscar and Angie. Then the two sharks rushed off to prepare for their song, which was going to be "(I've Had) the Time of My Life (Glee Cast Version)".

Ten minutes later, the guests were all seated at their tables. All the lights in the dining room were turned off, except for the spotlights that had been placed in the front of the room where the song would take place. When the room was completely silent, Kylie's sisters, who were standing under the spotlights, began harmonizing as backup singers. Then Lenny entered the room from one entrance with another spotlight shining on him.

Lenny: _"Now I've had the time of my life, no I've never felt like this before, _

_Yes I swear it's the truth and I owe it all to you."_

Kylie entered the room from the opposite entrance and joined Lenny in singing.

Kylie: _"'Cause I've had the time of my life and I owe it all to you." _

Lenny: _"I've been waiting for so long and now I've finally found someone to stand by me."_

Kylie: _"We saw the writing on the wall as we felt this magical fantasy." _

Both: _"Now with passion in our eyes, there's no way we could disguise this secretly, _

_So we take each other's hand 'cause we seem to understand the urgency." _

Kylie: _"Oh!"_

Lenny: _"Just remember!" _

Kylie: _"You're the one thing."_

Lenny: _"I can't get enough of."_

Kylie:_ "So I'll tell you something." _

Both: _"This could be love! Because…"_

Kylie's sisters join in: _"I've had the time of my life, no I've never felt this way before, _

_Yes I swear, it's the truth, and I owe it all to you."_

Lenny: _"Hey Baby."_

Kylie: _"Hey Baby! With my body and soul, I want you more than you'll ever know."_

Lenny: _"So we'll just let it go, don't be afraid to lose control, no."_

Kylie: _"Yes I know what's on your mind when you say, stay with me tonight."_

Lenny: _"Just remember. You're the one thing."_

Kylie: _"I can't get enough of." _

Lenny:_ "So I'll tell you something." _

Both: _"This could be love! Because…" _

All: _"I've had the time of my life, no I've never felt this way before. _

_Yes I swear, it's the truth, and I owe it all to you. _

'_Cause I've had the time of my life and I've searched through every open door, _

_til I found the truth, and I owe it all to you." _

Lenny: _"Now I've…" _

Kylie: _"I…"_

Lenny: _"… had the time of my life, no I've never felt this way before,"_

Kylie: _"Never felt this way." _

Lenny: _"Yes I swear, it's the truth, and I owe it all to you!" _

All: _"I've had the time of my life, no I've never felt this way before, _

_Yes I swear, it's the truth, and I owe it all to you, _

'_Cause I've had the time of my life, and I've searched through every open door, _

'_til I found the truth, and I owe it all to you." _

Both: _"Now I've had the time of my life."_

When their performance was over, Kylie went to socialize with a group of her old friends and Lenny caught up with Oscar and Angie again.

"Man, that was a great show," Oscar congratulated.

"And very romantic," said Angie.

"Thanks a lot, guys," said Lenny. "And thanks for being here on the biggest day of my life."

"Hey man, no sweat," said Oscar. "I just wish I could've been your best man."

"We're really happy for you, Lenny," said Angie.

Lenny smiled. "I'm happy for you guys too."

"Do you think of us a lot?" Angie asked.

"As often as I can," Lenny replied. "But no thanks to my dad, I try not to think about the life I left behind. By the way, what no good stuff has he been up to? Is he still making everyone's lives a living hell?"

"Actually, the reef's never been happier," said Oscar. "We never hear from Lino or any of the sharks anymore. Even Sykes doesn't contact 'em anymore. The day after you left, these rumors started goin' around that they were outta business. It's like they just fell off the surface of the earth. We're starting to wonder if Lino's even alive anymore."

"Seriously?" Lenny asked, slightly shocked. "You think he's… ya know?"

"It's just a rumor," said Angie. "But considering that no one ever sees him anymore, it might just be true."

"That's great!" said Lenny.

Oscar and Angie looked at him as if he'd said something horrible.

"Uh, we kinda thought you'd be sad," said Oscar.

"Sad?" said Lenny. "Why would I be sad about the death of the guy who kicked me out of my home?"

"Maybe 'cause he's your father?" said Oscar.

Lenny became serious. "I don't care, guys. He made my life miserable. He made my friends' lives miserable. And if I remember right, he kidnapped Angie and tried to kill Oscar."

"Maybe so," Oscar admitted. "But ya can't really blame 'im. He thought I killed your brother, remember? He was just tryin' to get even, like any parent would."

"Yeah," said Angie. "And FYI, his weird octopus stooge kidnapped me, not him."

Lenny looked at them with confusion and a bit of anger in his eyes.

"What?" asked Oscar.

"When did you guys join his side?" Lenny asked darkly.

"Wha…? Lenny, we're on your side," said Oscar.

"You can't be on my side and feel even the smallest bit sorry for him," said Lenny in a raised voice. "_He's_ the bad guy. _He's_ the killer. _He's_ the one who would kill everyone in this room if he found out they existed. How can you look me in the eye and tell me you don't blame him for all that?"

"That's not what we're saying," said Angie. "We're just saying maybe he's not as bad as people think he is."

"You take that back!" Lenny yelled.

He screamed this so loudly that everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to him. Kylie was no exception. She swam up to him quickly and asked, "Lenny, what's going on?"

Lenny tried to calm down. "Nothin'," he replied. "Just a once great friendship comin' to a standstill."

Oscar and Angie looked hurt.

"Lenny," Oscar said quietly. "What do you…"

"Just forget it!" Lenny snapped. "C'mon, Kylie. It's almost time to leave for the honeymoon."

"Uh, Lenny that's not for another hour," said Kylie.

"Can we please just go?" Lenny asked.

"Are you alright?" Kylie asked.

"Fine," Lenny insisted. "I'm just ready for the honeymoon is all."

"But Lenny…"

"Look, we did the cake, we did the song, you danced with your dad, we did everything we were supposed to. Can we please just go now?"

Kylie could tell he was being serious and that he was becoming angry, so she decided maybe it was best if they did leave. "Okay, if that's what you want."

Lenny nodded and swam away quickly. Kylie looked sympathetically at Oscar and Angie and then promptly followed, refusing to ask her husband what was really bothering him.

_End of chapter _

_Author's note: Yes I am a big fan of Glee's music lol. _


	13. Chapter 13

_Chapter 13_

A few months later, Lenny was finishing up his work for the day and heading home for the evening. He was looking at his cell phone reading a text message Oscar had just sent him. It read, "Hope we can still be friends!" In addition to the text, Oscar had added a picture of himself and Angie, whose pregnancy was becoming more and more noticeable.

Lenny sighed. He had the feeling eventually either he or they would have to apologize to each other. He hadn't exactly been himself the first few days of the honeymoon. Mainly because he couldn't stop thinking about how untypically cold he'd been to them at the wedding. After all, it'd been three years since he'd seen them and they came all that way to be there for him on his wedding day. On top of that, they were the only friends he'd ever had on the South Side Reef. Getting furious with them over something that no longer mattered did not a warm welcome make. During the midpoint of the honeymoon, Kylie helped him feel better by talking to him in an understanding way. They also did something else that took it off his mind, but that's all I can say (you'll find out later in the chapter).

Lenny smiled at the picture of his friends and replied by texting, "Count on it" followed by a winking emoticon. He felt proud of himself, and he knew Kylie would be proud of him. He couldn't stay mad at Oscar and Angie.

When he arrived at the bedroom that he and Kylie had recently moved into, he couldn't wait to tell her his news. He went inside and surprisingly found her already back from work.

"Hey, Sweetie," she greeted him with a kiss.

"Hey," he replied. "What are you doin' home so early?"

"I didn't go to work today," said Kylie. "I was doing something else."

"Well, I've gotta surprise for you," Lenny said happily.

"I have one for you too."

"I bet my surprise is bigger," said Lenny.

Kylie grinned. "Oh I doubt that. What is it?"

"Right when I was leaving work, I got a text message from Oscar," Lenny explained. "He and Angie are still hoping we can all be friends."

"And how did you respond?" Kylie asked.

Lenny smiled. "I took your advice and decided to forgive 'em."

"That's great," said Kylie. "I knew you wouldn't stay a big jerk forever."

"Yeah, I… What do ya mean big jerk?" he joked.

Kylie giggled. "I'm just teasing, lighten up."

"I thought so," Lenny said suspiciously. "So, what's your big surprise?"

"Uh, well I'm not quite sure how to tell you, so I think I should start by asking you a question."

"Go ahead," said Lenny.

"Okay, how would you feel if you could be around kids all day everyday? And I don't mean just at work, I mean twenty-four/seven."

Lenny was still a little curious. "You mean come home from work and still be around kids?"

"Yeah, that's the idea."

Lenny chuckled at the idea. "I think that'd be great. Fun too."

Kylie smiled. "Okay, then you'll be over the moon when I tell you this next part."

The look on Lenny's face went from happy to startle.

* * *

><p><em>(9 months later)<em>

Lenny burst out the office door and rushed off to the hospital. Kurtis had sent him at least nine text messages informing him on how Kylie was doing. Normally, he would've been right there next to her the entire time. But that stupid meeting that could not be postponed had gotten in the way. Now it was finally over and Lenny just had to make sure all went well with the delivery. And how could he have done that if he wasn't there to comfort Kylie? He didn't know what the bigger problem was at the moment; that the baby chose to come today of all days or that the meeting couldn't have waited some other time. On the plus side, he seemed a tiny bit less stressed at the moment than he had earlier that morning when it all began.

He was just about to leave for the meeting when Kylie started panting and rubbing her belly. Lenny asked her what was wrong and her reply could not have been less convenient. "It's time." For some bizarre reason, she was calm and relaxed when she said this. Lenny was both flustered and panicked. The baby was coming now? The day of the most important meeting of the year? Talk about perfect timing. He quickly picked up the phone, called Kylie's parents, and told them it was time. They rushed over as quickly as they could and the three of them helped Kylie get to the hospital. Lenny was stunned at how relaxed she had been as they swam her there. She took deep, even breaths, never moaned, and showed almost no signs of being in pain. Lenny grew to love her all the more because she was so brave despite going into labor. When they got her to the hospital, Lenny begged her to forgive him and said that he had to get to the meeting. He also begged her not to have the baby until the meeting was over. Kylie, starting to show signs of being in pain, chuckled and said, "Don't you think that's up to the baby?" Lenny kissed her goodbye, wished her luck, and dashed off to the meeting, hoping it wouldn't be too long. It turned out to be a lot longer than he'd hoped. He could barely concentrate because he was too busy worrying about Kylie. As soon as it was over, Dustin warned him not to panic and reminded him that Kylie was a strong girl. Lenny agreed and said, "That's why I married her."

And that's how it all went down, at least from Lenny's point of view. Now here he was swimming for his life trying to reach the hospital in time for the delivery. He turned the corner that came just before the entrance to the hospital rooms and froze in his tracks when he saw Kylie's entire family seated outside her room.

"Oh no," he said. They all looked up at him. "Please don't tell me I'm too late."

Kurtis stood up and said, "I'm sorry, Lenny. You missed the delivery."

Lenny snarled. "Ugh! I knew I shouldn't have left her. What kinda husband am I? I mean I now the meeting was important but we're talkin' about the girl I love here."

Kurtis chuckled. "Hey, hey, take it easy, Son. Nobody's dying."

"The delivery went fine, Lenny," Kara assured. "Kylie and the baby are alive and healthy, at least that's what we've been told."

"You haven't seen it yet?" Lenny asked.

"Kylie wants you to be the first," Kayla smiled.

"So does that mean you don't know if it's a boy or a girl?" Lenny hoped all along that it'd be a boy. Kylie would've been fine with either.

"Nope," said Kurtis. "But what's stopping you from going in there and finding out?"

"If it's a girl, name her Kelsey the Second," said Kelsey.

Lenny grinned at her. "I'll keep that in mind." Now he really hoped it would be a boy.

"Go on in, Son," Kurtis encouraged.

"Wish me luck, everyone," Lenny said nervously.

"You won't need it," said Kandice.

"Is that what my aura says?" Lenny teased.

"No," Kandice replied. "It's written all over your face."

Lenny smiled at her words of comfort and inhaled deeply as he pushed the hospital room door open. He went inside, looked over to Kylie's bed, and almost broke out crying at what he saw.

Kylie was lying down on the bed smiling at a bundle of blankets that she was holding in her fins. Lenny didn't need to be an expert at babies to know that his new one was in that bundle of blankets. It didn't take Kylie long to notice his presence. She looked up from the bundle to face her husband and gave a caring smile at him. He swam up to the side of the bed quietly and greeted her with a kiss.

"I'm sorry I missed it," he said gently.

"It's okay," said Kylie. "The important thing now is that you're here to see your child."

Lenny nodded and looked down at the bundle in Kylie's fins. He couldn't help but sniffle a bit when he saw how cute their baby was. It looked so peaceful and warm as it slept happily in its mother's fins.

"It's a boy," Kylie said to Lenny. "Congratulations, Daddy." She held the baby closer to Lenny so he could hold onto him with her.

"Are you okay with that?" Lenny asked. "Do you wanna have another and try for a girl?"

Kylie scoffed. "Pass. I grew up around six little girls, and that's more than enough."

"I agree," said Lenny. "Now we won't have to name anyone Kelsey the Second."

Kylie gave him a confused look. "What?"

"Nothing."

"Well, whatever you mean by 'Kelsey the Second', I know for a fact that my parents will be devastated if his name doesn't start with K."

Lenny's smile faded. "Ah man. We haven't thought too much about names, have we?"

"Well, I think I may have one already," said Kylie, "But I wanna be fair and have you give it a shot first."

"Me?" Lenny asked.

"If you can't think of anything, we'll go with what I've got."

"Well I'm not too good with names," Lenny said nervously. "But I guess I could give it a shot. Uh…" He examined the baby and tried to decide what K name would suit him. "How 'bout Kyle?"

Kylie shook her head. "Nah, it sounds too much like my name."

"Good point," said Lenny. "Then how 'bout Kevin?"

"Too common," said Kylie.

"Karl?"

"Too old fashioned."

"Kacey?"

"Too girly."

"Kahlil?"

"…Kahlil?" Kylie repeated.

Lenny shrugged. "It was all I could think of."

Kylie chuckled. "Lenny, you're gonna make him think his daddy's a great big doofus." She looked at Lenny and said, "Then again…"

Lenny rolled his eyes and said, "Alright, little miss name expert. What'd you have in mind?"

"Well," said Kylie, "I was thinking I kind of like Kendall."

"Kendall?" said Lenny. He looked at their baby again and then smiled. "Ya know? I think that's perfect. And I got nothing, so Kendall it is."

"Great."

The couple looked down at their new son.

"Hey, little Kendall," said Lenny.

The baby seemed to take a liking to his new name. As soon as he heard it, he cooed and merrily opened his olive green eyes. A smile broke out on his face when he saw his parents for the first time.

"Look," Lenny said to Kylie. "He's got your eyes."

"He looks more like you, though," said Kylie.

Lenny chuckled. "I bet your mom and dad are gonna be proud when they see him."

Kylie looked at him. "I think your parents would be proud too."

"_Well, one of 'em would,"_ Lenny said in his mind. _"The other would probably eat Kendall on the spot. I shudder to think."_

Kylie noticed his upset face and said, "Uh oh, did I say something I shouldn't have?"

Lenny shook his head. "No, it's fine."

"Is it fine if I ask you if you ever think about them?"

Lenny thought for a few minutes about his answer. He still didn't want to tell her about what Lino threatened to do when he kicked Lenny out of their home. He especially didn't want to say it in front of their new son.

"I don't look back anymore," he said with a serious face. "It hurts too much. It hurts to think about what my life used to be. Different. That's all I was in everyone's eyes, different. Not special, not unique, not one-of-a-kind, just different. That's why I couldn't stay."

Kylie put her fin on his shoulder and said, "I'm sorry."

Lenny smiled and said, "It doesn't matter anymore. I belong here, with you." He nuzzled Kylie lovingly. "And Kendall."

They looked down at Kendall again and thought what a happy family they would be. Lenny couldn't help but think of all the differences between his current position and Nathan's. Everything he had now was the exact opposite of what Nathan had: a great job, a beautiful wife who loved him, and now an adorable baby son. He felt that in a way Nathan had taught him to be a good husband and father. He'd learned from all the mistakes that Nathan had made. He also felt that Lino had been proven wrong. Someone could love a vegetarian shark. He'd found his acceptance in life, and he'd found somebody to love. And the best part was that Lino was supposedly dead, which meant there was no chance of him finding out about Lenny's loved ones and killing them. The future was clear to Lenny. His life would be smooth sailing from here on out. Kylie rested her head against his shoulder as they admired Kendall. Everything was definitely going his way.

_End of chapter_


	14. Chapter 14

_Chapter 14_

(3 years later)

Lenny, now twenty-six, was living the life he'd never thought he'd be living. He loved his work, he loved his home, and he loved his family. Everyday at work was a piece of cake. Mainly because Dustin, who was both older and had been a part of the business longer, would usually be doing all the paperwork and stuff. Lenny did his part too, but what he really loved was seeing the kids. A few times each week, he would take a break from his boring office papers and do what he could to help with the kids. They were always happy to see him there. And he was always happy to play with them or help them with their problems. He figured doing so helped him to become a better father to Kendall.

As much as he loved being with the kids though, it didn't always keep him away from his desk. During the day, as so often happens with most working people, he would start to wish he was at home with Kylie and Kendall. When Kendall was born, Kylie resigned her job in the organization to take care of the home. This meant Lenny almost never got to see her during the day anymore. So he kept a recent photo of the three of them on his desk at work. If his mind and heart ever yearned for them, he would glance at the photo to remind himself that they would be there when he went home at the end of the day. Sometimes the picture would distract him completely. It was a lovely family photo and that was a fact. Lenny had his right fin around Kylie, who was gazing at him lovingly, and Kendall was sitting on his left shoulder. Sometimes it annoyed Lenny that he stuck out like a sore fin because he was the only family member in the picture not wearing a scarf. Kylie was wearing her signature blue floral scarf and Kendall was wearing the striped yellow and black scarf Lenny had given him for Christmas. The story behind that was Lenny had seen the scarf on sale at a kids store and it instantly brought back memories of "Sebastian the whale washin' dolphin". So he bought it and Kendall adored it so much that he almost never took it off. That was clearly a trait he'd inherited from Kylie; they both loved scarves.

Lenny and Dustin ran the lost and found organization the way they both thought leaders should. With smiles, patience, giving their employees a good laugh from time to time, and showing that they cared about the kids not money or power. All the things Lino never did as a leader. Lenny knew that being a team leader did not mean one had the authority to use fear as a control stick to use at their pleasure. What would that accomplish? Only making him the most feared, or as he saw the most hated, creature in the ocean. Sure everyone would obey him, but at what cost? Only to have them leave his sight and tell everyone they knew that they hated him? Yeah, like he wanted to live to be hated by all who surrounded him. He and Dustin ran things just fine without having to use the iron fist.

One day, the two co-presidents were finishing some last-minute paperwork… well, one of them was anyway. Lenny was too distracted by his precious family photo to concentrate.

Dustin laughed and said, "Hey, family man." Lenny looked up at him. "These papers aren't gonna sign themselves," Dustin continued.

Lenny scoffed. "I know, I know. Sometimes it's just hard for me to think about anything else."

"Oh come on, Lenny," Dustin joked. "You'll see them in like ten minutes."

"Do you know how long that is in my mind?"

"Lenny, sometimes I get the feeling you think one day Kylie's gonna take Kendall, run away, and leave you all alone," said Dustin.

"… I can honestly say up 'til now, that's never crossed my mind," said Lenny. "Thanks a lot for pointing out that possibility."

"It's not a possibility, it's just a joke."

"A kinda cruel one, don't ya think?"

"No, a funny one," said Dustin with a smile.

Lenny rolled his eyes. "Dustin, the only reason why it's funny for you is 'cause you've been single your whole life and wouldn't understand the pain of possibly being ditched by your girl."

"Oh yeah? Well…" Dustin made a serious face. "Touché."

The two friends laughed and Lenny looked down at the paper on his desk that he hadn't finished filling out.

Dustin could tell he was still anxious to get home to his family. "Ya know what? Why don't you get going on home? I'll stay behind and finish up here."

"You sure?" Lenny asked hopefully.

"Positive," said Dustin with a wink. "There's not that much. I can get it all done in a few minutes."

"Dustin, you rock," Lenny said happily.

"Say hi to the family for me."

"Can do."

Lenny was out of the office in a heartbeat. He felt like a prisoner being freed from his cell after years of rotting in jail. He couldn't wait to see his wife and son. But he didn't officially feel completely happy until he was in his bedroom being greeted by Kylie with a kiss.

"You're home early," she said.

"Yeah, work was kinda slow today and I couldn't stay away from you any longer."

Kylie gave him a loving gaze. "You are too much of a dreamboat."

Lenny returned the gaze and said, "That's not a problem, is it?"

"Not at all."

Before the two of them could get any closer…

"Daddy!"

Kendall, who had just woken up from his nap, swam up to Lenny with a flower in his fin.

Lenny lifted Kendall up, not paying a lot of attention to the flower, and said, "Hey, Kendall. How ya doin' today?"

Lenny took a brief moment to look over his son. Seeing him in that yellow-and-black scarf was always a sight that brought back rare memories of him (Lenny) actually being happy on the South Side Reef. Kendall really did look a lot like he did when he was three, except for those refreshing olive green eyes, which he'd gotten from Kylie's side. But Kendall had inherited much more than physical traits from his parents. One only had to spend five minutes with him to realize that he truly was his father and mother's son. He was shy and timid like Lenny but not quite as jumpy. He always maintained a calm and practical nature like Kylie. He was really close to his parents so they were usually the only ones who saw the more playful side of him, especially on weekends when they would take him for swims around the reef. He loved nature, just like Kylie, so on weekdays when Lenny would work, the two of them would spend outdoor time on their own. Sometimes Kylie would take him to see Lenny at work and play with the lost kids in the organization. The latter didn't always succeed because of Kendall's shyness, but Lenny and Kylie still loved him. And like them both, Kendall was a vegetarian. They valued this, but Lenny was determined to always love Kendall regardless of what he ate.

"So what've you both been up to today?" Lenny asked Kylie, still holding onto Kendall.

"Let's see," Kylie tried to remember. "We went for a little swim this morning and then after lunch we went to visit my parents."

"Sounds like a good day," said Lenny. He looked at Kendall. "Were you good for Grandma and Grandpa?"

"Yup," Kendall replied. "But Aunt Kelsey sure wasn't."

"Uh oh, what'd she do this time?"

Kylie crossed her fins and said, "Well, she was kicking her soccer ball around inside the house, which my parents have already told her a million times not to do, and broke my mom's antique teapot."

Lenny knew how important that old teapot was to Kara. "Wow, I bet your mom wasn't happy."

"You'd win that bet," said Kylie. "For the next month, Kelsey's banned from TV, soccer, dessert, and phone privileges."

"Talk about bringin' down the hammer," Lenny teased. "But can't say she doesn't deserve it. She's eighteen, when is she ever gonna grow up?"

"I think Aunt Kelsey's grown up," said Kendall.

Lenny smiled at his son's humor. "That's because she's fifteen years older than you."

"Kendall, show Daddy what you picked for me on our swim today," said Kylie.

Kendall held the flower he was holding up to Lenny's face. Now that his mind had been called to it, Lenny could clearly see that it was Kylie's very favorite flower. That's right, a blue carnation.

"You picked that for your mama?" Lenny asked. "Well aren't you just a little lover boy?"

"Yes he is, unlike his daddy," Kylie teased. "Notice that unlike the corsage you gave me on our first date, this flower is a whole flower. All petals are still intact and not one is a part of someone's digestion."

Lenny laughed nervously. "Kylie, please. Not in front of our son, he looks up to me."

"Only because he doesn't know you as well as I do," said Kylie. "You can really learn a thing or two about being romantic from him."

Lenny scoffed. "Yeah, yeah."

"Here you go, Mama." Kendall handed Kylie the carnation.

"Thank you, Kendall. I'll put it in a vase later. Now go on and play until dinner time."

"Okay." Lenny set Kendall back down to the floor and he went off to play with his collection of stuffed animals.

"Speaking of dinner," Lenny said to Kylie, "what is it? I'm starvin'."

"I figured you'd be hungry when you got home, so I ordered from the Chinese restaurant's takeout menu. I called them twenty minutes ago, so it'll be about another ten minutes. Sorry, I didn't know you'd be home so soon."

"It's fine, I can wait," Lenny insisted.

"Good," said Kylie. "And I hope you really _are_ starving because I also called the sweets shop and ordered your favorite dessert."

Lenny liked the sound of that. "Kelp-flavored ice cream cake?"

"Only the best for my Lenny-Wenny."

Lenny smiled. "You're too good to me, ya know that?"

"Why shouldn't I be?" Kylie asked. "I fell for you the moment I first saw you, I pledged my undying love to you, and I mothered your child. You both deserve to be spoiled."

"At least I'm more spoiled than he is," Lenny said, looking over at their son who was playing with his stuffed beluga. "Ya know? I never thought bein' a parent could be so easy."

"Me neither," said Kylie.

"I don't know why your dad's always sayin' it's the most exhausting thing in the world."

Kylie rolled her eyes. "Maybe because raising seven girls who are all super close together in age is a much bigger challenge than one little boy."

Lenny never really put that into consideration. "Yeah, that could be it."

Kylie chuckled. "I remember when I was Kendall's age, I was sitting on my dad's shoulder and my mom was introducing me to Kandice for the first time. Then when Kandice was three she was on my dad's shoulder, he was trying to balance her and hold Karissa at the same time, my Mom was holding Katrina, and I was trying not to drag Kayla on the ground. And when Kayla was three, she was hiding behind my dad because newborn Kelsey was crying too loud and my dad already had his fins full because he was holding the twins by the fin to make sure they didn't fall down."

"That sounds like a party," said Lenny. "It also sounds luxurious. When I was three, my brother was chasing me around the living room with my mom's lipstick."

"Oh, well I guess you win for worst childhood memory then."

"At least I learned from it," Lenny admitted.

"You learned never to do embarrassing things to your family members?" Kylie guessed.

"No, I learned that a shark with my skin tone should never wear pink," Lenny joked. "But that's a pretty good learning experience too."

Kylie laughed. "Well either way, I'm pretty sure we won't see Kendall parading around wearing any of my lipstick. It's mostly pink and he has your skin tone."

The couple laughed together.

"I want him to have a better childhood than I did," Lenny said hopefully.

"From the looks of it, I'd say he already does," said Kylie.

And that was a basic day in Lenny's life. But unbeknownst to both Lenny and Kylie, it would also be the last day like it.

_End of chapter_


	15. Chapter 15

_Chapter 15_

The next day at work, Lenny was reading a letter he'd received that morning from Angie. He had been in too much of a rush to read it when he checked the mail, so he chose to read it now that he finally had a free moment. Visiting each other had proven to be difficult because of distance, careers, and families. So the friends kept in touch with each other through letters and phone calls. Sometimes it was hard for Lenny to read their letters because, being fish, their paper was very small, which meant he had to do a lot of squinting. But he managed.

Today's letter read the following:

"_Dear Lenny, _

_How are you? All is well here on the South Side Reef. We loved the Christmas card you sent us. Kendall is so cute! Oscar says he's the "spitting image of his ol' man", and I couldn't agree more. Looks like you and Kylie are doing a great job raising him. We've had our fins full lately with Amanda and Otto, but our twins are awesome! We should arrange a play date for our kids sometime. I had to check with you first because I know your schedule is always packed. Anyway, here's hoping you guys are all doing well! Hope to hear from you soon! _

_Angie._

_P.S, Oscar says hi." _

In addition to the letter, Angie had sent a photo of herself, Oscar, and their twins. This was the first time Lenny had seen the kids in a picture since the one taken when they were born. He realized now that he'd never met them, and Oscar and Angie had never met Kendall. Maybe it was high time they introduced their kids to each other and arranged a play date. But before that, Lenny would have to check with Oscar and Angie to make sure they taught their kids that not all sharks were enemies.

This thought was suddenly interrupted by the ringing of the office phone. Dustin answered it, knowing his pal and co-worker had other things on his mind. "Clearwater Reef's Lost & Found Organization, Co-President Dustin speaking."

Lenny could just barely make out a woman's voice on the other line, but what she was saying was unclear. He leaned inward trying to listen in on the conversation. Then the office door flung open and he was distracted once again when he saw that the intruder was Kylie.

"Hey, Baby," she greeted her husband as she reached the desk.

"Hey, what are you doin' here?"

Kylie held up a brown paper bag and said, "I just remembered we had some leftovers from last night and I don't want it, so I figured you might like some lunch."

"Thanks," Lenny said, taking the bag. "Any eggrolls left?"

"Three."

"Awesome! Wait, if you're here, who's watching Kendall?"

"Don't worry, I've got that covered," Kylie assured. "He's spending the afternoon with Kayla."

Lenny sighed in relief. "Good, the normal one."

Kylie laughed. "She volunteered to read to kids at the library today and you know how much Kendall loves to hear stories."

"That was nice of her," said Lenny.

"And a lot more pleasant than what the other girls wanted to do with him," said Kylie. "Katrina offered to take him to…"

Lenny held up a fin to stop her. "I don't even wanna know."

"I didn't think you'd let me finish."

Their conversation came to a halt when Dustin suddenly raised his voice, apparently trying to calm the woman he was speaking to on the phone down. "Alright. Alright, Ma'am. Don't worry. If you really need our help this much, we'll be delighted to help you. It's no trouble at all. Come by tomorrow at three o'clock and we'll see what we can do to help. Yes, I have all your information written down. You're welcome. Goodbye." He hung up the phone and shook his head.

"What's wrong, Dustin?" Lenny asked.

"I'm not too sure we'll be able to help this lady find her kid," Dustin replied.

"Why not?"

"Because technically, her kid isn't a kid anymore," said Dustin. "She lost him a long time ago and she said he'd be at least in his mid twenties by now."

"Hm," Lenny thought. "Not too often we get a call like that."

"She seemed pretty desperate to find him, though," Dustin continued. "So I told her we'd do what we could."

"And that's exactly what we will do," said Lenny. "Preteen or mid twenties, someone out there misses his family. And if his mom's turning to us to find him, we can't let her down."

Kylie smiled proudly at her husband. "Well said, Lenny."

Dustin agreed. "She's coming here to meet with us tomorrow." He looked over the notes he'd taken while speaking to her on the phone. "Looks like she's come a long way to get here. She's been trying to find her son for at least seven years now."

Everything Dustin was saying made Lenny feel nervous inside. The way he was describing this woman, it almost sounded like it was his (Lenny's) mom. After all he was in his mid twenties, he'd been gone for at least seven years, and his old home was a long way from Clearwater Reef. Hopefully, this was all just a coincidence.

"Did she say where she's from?" he asked Dustin.

Dustin checked the notes again. "Yes, the Southside Reef. She didn't bother looking there because she knows for a fact her son wouldn't be there. So for the past few years, she's been looking in every reef surrounding it, calling search teams, and praying for luck. But she's never found him. Then she heard about our organization and how good we are at helping kids find their homes. So she came all the way over here, rented a hotel room, and now she's hoping with all her heart that we can help her."

"I hope you can," said Kylie. "It'd be kind of sad if she came all this way in vain."

Lenny had stopped listening after Dustin said she was from the Southside Reef. "Anything else?" he asked nervously.

"Well, she didn't give me too much information on her son," said Dustin. "She's probably waiting to do that tomorrow. But she said her name was Kathleen and she's got a husband back home."

Lenny almost fell out of his seat. The last statement had made him so nervous that his head started spinning. It wasn't a coincidence. None of it was a coincidence. The woman Dustin had just spoken to on the phone was Lenny's mother. And she had a husband back home? That meant Lino wasn't dead after all. If he found out about Clearwater Reef and that almost all the sharks who lived there were vegetarians, that meant bad news. Kathleen must've gone behind Lino's back and tried to find Lenny and bring him home, unaware of Lino's threat. And she was about to meet with Lenny tomorrow. If Lenny faced her, what then? She'd go back, tell Lino the "great" news, and unknowingly cause the genocide of all of Lenny's loved ones. Lenny panted deeply, which caused Kylie and Dustin to start worrying about him.

"Lenny?" said Dustin.

"Lenny? What's wrong?" Kylie asked urgently.

Lenny didn't answer. He just shut his eyes and held his head, trying to regain his breath.

Kylie swam up to him and tried to snap him out of it. "Lenny? Can you hear me? Are you okay? Lenny?"

He showed sings that he'd heard her loud and clear and looked her straight in the eye. "She's my mom," he admitted for the first time ever.

Kylie looked stunned. "What?"

"Kathleen is my mom."

_End of chapter_

_Author's note: Thank you to my reviewers for warning me about AnthonyAngrywolf. I wondered what the heck was up with him reviewing nothing but when the next chapter would be up._


	16. Chapter 16

_Chapter 16_

Dustin excused Lenny from work early again. But this time it was because Lenny needed to recover from shock. He paced his room nervously with Kylie watching his every move. This all seemed too horrific to be true. After seven years of smooth sailing, his life had suddenly crashed into an iceberg. On the plus side, at least it was Kathleen instead of Lino but either way, there was no way this could have a happy ending.

At last, Kylie spoke up. "Lenny, would you please tell me what the big deal is?"

"The big deal is I haven't seen my mom in seven years and now she comes up here with no warning and I'm supposed to meet with her tomorrow," Lenny explained.

"Yeah, that part I get," said Kylie. "What I don't get is why you're acting like it's Shark Vader instead of your mom."

"Because, didn't you hear what Dustin said?" said Lenny. "'She's got a husband back home'. That means my dad is alive and for the last four years I thought he wasn't."

"So?"

Lenny sighed, annoyed that Kylie wasn't following. "So, my mom's gonna recognize me the minute she sees me, go back home and tell my dad I'm here."

"Okay, I don't know what all this is about," said Kylie. "But it seems to me that you're overreacting. If your mom came all this way to try and find you, she must've really missed you since you left."

"Yeah," said Lenny. "And Pop should've thought of that before he kicked me outta the house."

Kylie looked confused. "Wait, I thought you said you ran away."

The secrets were beginning to come out one by one. "Well, I did at first," Lenny admitted. "But then I went and let myself get caught. I talked to Pop about why I left and thought for sure he'd understand and take me back. Turned out I thought wrong. He looked me straight in the eye and told me to leave."

"Why?" Kylie asked.

"The exact same reason why I ran away; because I wasn't the son he always wanted. As opposed to my 'perfect' brother and his cold blooded killer ways."

Kylie reached her fin out and affectionately stroked Lenny's cheek. "Lenny, I… I didn't know."

"I didn't want you to know," Lenny replied. "Talking about it only would've made me feel worse."

"Don't feel bad," Kylie said with a small smile. "I'm glad you told me what really happened, even if it took a while to gather up the courage."

"Courage," Lenny repeated. "No one ever has courage when it comes to my dad."

"I hope that's not true," said Kylie. "I wanna be in a good mood when I meet him."

Lenny almost fell back when she said this. "Meet him?" he said in a raised voice. "Who said anything about you meeting him?"

Kylie looked hurt. "You're not gonna introduce me to my father-in-law?"

"He is the last person I'm _ever_ gonna introduce you to," said Lenny.

"But Lenny…"

"Didn't you hear me, Kylie?" Lenny practically shouted. "He disowned me, he kicked me out, and he told me he never wanted to see me again."

"Well, maybe he was just mad when he said that," said Kylie. "And he's had seven years to think it over. If that's the case, then I want to meet him. And I'm pretty sure Kendall's gonna want to meet his grandfather."

"No!" This time Lenny really did shout. "I am not introducing my son to the shark who's responsible for all my misery!"

Now even Kylie was starting to lose patience. "Don't you think I should have a say in this?"

"You don't get it, do you?" Lenny asked. "I'm trying to protect you both. I'm doing you a favor by not letting you meet him."

Kylie really didn't get it. "How is shutting your own parents out of our lives protecting us?"

Lenny sighed. All these years, he'd hoped he'd never have to tell a soul what Lino threatened to do to innocent vegetarian sharks. Now Kylie was vaguely demanding him for an explanation, and he knew the truth would make her feel horrible. But at the same time, it would also make her understand the urgency of this situation. He took a deep breath and finally spilled his guts.

"Kylie," he started, "I have to confess something. There's a reason why I never told you he kicked me out."

"And that would be?"

"He thought I was a disgrace to sharks because I was a vege… because I was different," Lenny continued. "So I told him I'd go somewhere where sharks would accept me. He said I'd never find a place like that and then said that if he ever found out that there were other vege… other sharks like me, he would… kill them."

"What?"

Lenny shut his eyes to avoid looking at the shock on her face. "Now do you see why I can't introduce you to him? If he finds out about this reef, no one will be safe. Not you, not your family, not even Kendall."

"You seriously think he'd be cruel enough to kill a child for being a vegetarian?" Kylie asked, still not being entirely convinced.

"I know he'd be," Lenny replied. "He told me so himself. He would kill every last vegetarian shark he could find, no matter if they were women or children. Kinda like that human guy from Germany in the '40's who killed six million people just 'cause of their religion."

Kylie raised an eyebrow. "So now you're comparing your own dad to Adolf Hitler?" she asked in an annoyed manner.

"All he's missin' is a mustache," said Lenny.

"Lenny, that is horrible."

Lenny nodded. "I know. Can you see it? All of us being sent to prison just 'cause we're a little different?"

"I was talking about you," said Kylie. "Comparing your own father to one of the most evil people in history? That's really just a sad thing. For all we know, maybe he's been missing you and now he's ready to apologize."

"HA!" Lenny snapped. "Do you have any idea who you're talking about? He's never apologized to _anyone_, for _anything_!"

"Well, it's been seven years," Kylie pointed out. "People change."

"Not him," said Lenny. "I spent the first nineteen years of my life with him. He was always the same. Stubborn, hotheaded, impatient. If he never changed then, what makes you think he's any different now?"

"You'll never know until you give him a second chance."

"It's too late for second chances, Kylie. He had his chance and he blew it big time."

Kylie shook her head. "Everyone deserves a second chance."

"No, not everyone. Not people who disown their family just because they're different."

Kylie was silent for a moment, then she said, "So what are you gonna do when you meet with your mom?"

Lenny shrugged. "I don't know. Hide my face, let Dustin do all the talking, and tell her we'll try to find her son even though we won't."

"That is a horrible idea."

"Well what would you rather me do?" Lenny asked. "I had to run away from home because my dad was pressurin' me. Then when I finally thought he was changing, he told me he never wanted to see me or anyone like me again. Now, no thanks to him, I can't even face my own mom."

"But he's still your father."

"Exactly," said Lenny. "And he kicked me out just for being a vegetarian. Just imagine what he could do to you and Kendall. I don't wanna see you both get hurt the same way that I did." Tears started to form in his eyes as he looked back at his wife. "I just want you both to be safe." He sat down on his bed and inhaled deeply.

Kylie was silent for several seconds, trying to gather together the right words to say to her flustered husband. When they finally came to her, she took a seat next to him and began her lecture.

"Lenny," she started, "do you remember the day we first met?"

"I try not to," Lenny replied sourly. "That brings back memories that are literally painful."

Kylie knew he was referring to the two of them unintentionally bumping heads repeatedly. "That's not quite what I meant, but at least you remember something from that day."

"Then what did you mean?"

"Do you remember asking me if my Uncle Patrick always had the face of a dried-up sea cucumber? And I told you he only appeared that way but on the inside he was a saint?" Kylie asked.

Lenny thought for a moment and then nodded.

"Well, maybe the same principle applies to your dad," Kylie continued. "Maybe he only appears rough around the edges, but on the inside beats a heart of gold."

Lenny didn't seem to agree with that statement. "If that were half true, he wouldn't have disowned me and threatened to kill innocent sharks."

Kylie sighed. "Lenny, he shouldn't have thrown you out, and I admit what he said was horrible. But if your mom has spent all these years trying to find you, it must mean that they both have been missing you and that he's willing to apologize. And if you don't forgive and embrace him, you could be making the same mistake he did."

The expression on Lenny's face remained bitter. He clearly wasn't putting much thought into what she was saying.

"Maybe this'll help," Kylie continued. "Do you know why I fell in love with you?"

"'Cause of my accent? My sense of humor? The fact that I'm a vegetarian like you?"

Kylie gave him a half smile. "Well all those did play a minor role," she admitted. "But what really ignited the flames was that I could tell from the start that you weren't like most guy sharks I've seen from out of town. I could see that you were sensitive, loving, and forgiving. Those are all things that most guys outside this reef would keep bottled up all their lives. But not you."

Lenny winced. "Thanks, I guess."

"My point is, right now you're not being the Lenny I fell in love with, who would forgive anyone without having to think twice. But I'm not gonna argue with you about this because arguing will just make everything worse. I'm just saying it really makes me sad to see you like this. If you are the Lenny I fell in love with, you'll hear your mom out when you meet her, you'll forgive your dad, and you'll welcome them both back into your life with open fins."

She could tell Lenny was at conflict with his conscience. That at least was a sign that he was finally listening to her words of wisdom.

She patted him on the back and said, "Now, enough moping. I'm gonna go pick up Kendall and then we'll have dinner." She got up from the bed and made her way to the door. Before she was out, she said in a happy tone, "I ordered your favorite dessert." She really hoped that would've perked him up. No such luck. He was still moping on the bed with a sour look on his face. She swam up to him again, looked him in the eye and said, "I'll still love you whatever you do, but I'm convinced we'll all be a lot happier if you face your mom tomorrow." She kissed him on the cheek and left him alone to sulk in his thoughts.

Now Lenny really didn't know what to do. He seriously doubted that Lino had changed at all since he last saw him. But at the same time, he didn't want to disappoint Kylie. She was right after all. It wasn't exactly common for him to be bitter and unforgiving. But they were talking about the shark whose definition of "different" was "has no right to live". All these thoughts were too confusing, but he couldn't stop thinking. Whatever he chose to do the next day would make a serious change in his life, and that was a fact. But the problem was, which decision would lead to happiness? And what was the right thing to do?

_End of chapter_


	17. Chapter 17

_Chapter 17_

It was late at night. Lenny and Kylie sat quietly on their bed waiting. Kendall was asleep, unaware of the chaos going on outside. It was best he was asleep, as far as his parents were concerned. If he were awake, they would never be able to explain that his own grandfather's stooges were right outside their doorway rounding up all their friends and loved ones and taking them to God-knew-where. But wherever it was, it couldn't possibly be a good place.

As the sounds of pounding on doors and angry demands to get ready echoed in the hallway, Kylie looked at Lenny with big scared eyes.

"I should've believed you," she said. "I guess he really is what you said he is."

Lenny put his fin around her and said, "Don't worry. Wherever they take us, they're not gonna split up our family."

Kylie glanced and Kendall and said, "This isn't the only family I'm worried about."

Lenny understood. Before he had the chance to respond, they heard a furious banging sound on the other side of their door. Kylie covered her mouth and tried not to scream. They both knew what that banging meant. They also hoped the commotion wouldn't wake Kendall. Thankfully it didn't.

"WAKE UP IN THERE!" belted the voice of the knocker. "YA GOT FIVE MINUTES!"

Kylie started panting nervously. Lenny understood her feelings, but the look on his face told her they should do as they were instructed in order to avoid getting into bigger trouble. The two took a deep breath and got up from the bed. Lenny picked up Kendall, being careful not to wake him, and he and Kylie proceeded to the door.

Once they were in the hallway, they were greeted by a moving crowd of their frightened looking friends. Among them were Patrick, Mara, and Dustin. Mara was leaning against Patrick, weeping on his shoulder. Dustin tried to comfort her by stroking her back and saying, "It'll be okay, Ma." Lenny took Kylie's trembling fin and they followed the crowd outside. What they saw once they were outside made them more nervous. A group of about twenty unpleasant looking male sharks had formed a large circle around every one of the Clearwater Reef's vegetarian sharks. Looking at these guard sharks, Lenny could tell what would happen if anyone tried to escape. He shut his mind to it and he and Kylie nervously approached the circle. The guard they came the closest to moved a bit to his left to let them through.

"Well, well, well," the guard said when he saw Lenny. The tone of his voice was even less pleasant than the distain on his face. "If it ain't the Don's kid. And he's gotta pup of his own."

Lenny turned Kendall away to make him less visible.

"Hide 'im all ya want, Kid," the guard continued. "You won't be able to hide 'im when we get you lot to Bergen-Shelsen."

Lenny ignored him and joined Kylie in the panicked crowd inside the circle.

"I don't like the way he said that," Kylie said.

"Me neither," Lenny replied, holding tightly onto sleeping Kendall. "And what the heck is Bergen-Shelsen?"

"I don't know," said Kylie. "But I have the feeling I'm better off not knowing."

"Kylie," said a nearby voice.

Kylie turned around and let out a sigh of relief when she saw Kara, Kurtis, and her six sisters approaching her looking worried. She hugged her parents tightly. "Mom! Dad!"

"We're here, Honey," said Kurtis.

"We're so glad you're okay," said Kara.

"Probably not for long," Kylie said as she hurriedly hugged each of her distraught sisters.

The panicked crowd suddenly fell silent when the biggest guard shark raised his fins to get their attention. "Okay, fellas!" he announced to his fellow guards. "We got 'em all here! Let's get these pathetic excuses for sharks where they belong!"

The twenty guards began shouting at the vegetarians in horrible voices, demanding them to move forward, shoving them, and even hitting them if they had to. They were outnumbered dozens to one, but that made no difference. One carnivore shark could easily take out more than a dozen vegetarian sharks, and Lenny knew that better than anyone. The crowd moved onward, still unaware of where they were being dragged to and what horrible fate was awaiting them there. For now, all went well as long as everyone cooperated with the guards and did not fall behind.

"I'm so sorry about this, everyone," Lenny said to Kylie and her family.

"You should be," said Kelsey. "Your old man's having us dragged away to prison."

"Kelsey, now is really not the time for it," warned Kara.

"Sorry."

"Don't blame yourself," Kylie whispered to Lenny. "You were right about him. I should've listened to you."

Normally Lenny would smile if Kylie told him he was right about something (marriage thing), but this time he had no heart for smiling at all.

The rest of the swim took only a few hours, but to the cold, hungry, and tired vegetarian sharks, it seemed like an eternity. If anyone started to fall asleep while they swam, Lino's guards would scream at them or slap them to wake them up. It was especially difficult for parents like Lenny who had to try to stay awake and carry their sleeping children at the same time.

After hours of seeing nothing but sand and rocks, an enormous brick building completely surrounded by a barbed wire fence appeared on the horizon. There were tall searchlights on both sides of the building and a closer look revealed a large group of killer whales lined up at the gate's entrance. They seemed to be expecting someone, and Lenny had a feeling he knew who.

"Lenny," Kylie whispered. "I just realized something."

"What's that?"

"When Hitler and his followers had all those people sent to the concentration camps during World War II, there was one camp in Germany called Bergen-Belsen," Kylie explained.

Lenny looked startled. "And that creepy guard told us we were going somewhere called Bergen-_Shelsen_."

"That means…"

The lead guard shark interrupted. "Freak sharks, welcome to Bergen-Shelsen labor camp!"

There was a mass of chaos and confusion from the crowd. Once or twice, someone tried to escape, but the guard sharks grabbed them by the tail and killed them on the spot. No one dared try to escape after that.

"Open the gate and let's get 'em inside!" the lead guard shouted. "The Don was very specific about what to do after that!"

Two killer whales opened the gates and the vegetarian sharks were shoved through the entrance one small group after another. Once they were in, it was nothing but madness. The killer whale guards were screaming bloody murder at the frightened sharks, who were ordered or else forced to separate. The females to the left and the males to the right. Lovers were pulled apart, children were ripped away from their parents, and none of the guards showed pity to any of the horrid actions they were performing. The blinding searchlights didn't make the process any less confusing. They were so bright that the sharks could barely see where they were swimming.

When Lenny and Kylie were in, they watched helplessly as a large whale grabbed Kurtis and brutally dragged him away from Kara and the girls.

"DAD!" Kylie hollered.

"KURTIS!" Kara tried to return to her husband, but the whale shoved her back with the other females.

Kylie and Lenny could still hear Kara sorrowfully screaming Kurtis's name and the girls screaming, "Dad!" At one point, they saw Kimmy, who had always been super close to their father, crying on Kara's shoulder. But their thoughts didn't stay with that sight for long. Two more killer whales appeared right in front of them, giving them both a fright. One of them grabbed Kendall from Lenny's grip and disappeared into the chaotic crowd with him.

"KENDALL!" Lenny and Kylie screamed.

Before they could do anything, the other whale grabbed Lenny and started hauling him away as well. "KYLIE!" he yelled.

He could hear Kylie's voice calling to him too. "LENNY! LENNY!" As the whale carried him farther, Kylie's voice became more distant.

"KYLIE! KYLIE?" But it was no good. The whale had taken him too far for her to hear him now. He lifted his head to look past the whale's shoulder and could just barely make out Kylie crying and returning to the side of her mother and sisters.

Lenny sobbed quietly. He'd promised Kylie that they wouldn't separate them. And now he'd been ripped apart from both her and Kendall. And who knew where each of them would be taken? But surprisingly, the whale did not appear to be taking him where the other male sharks were being lined up. It looked more like he was being taken an entrance to the huge brick building. What in the world was going on? When they reached the entrance, the whale knocked on the door.

"Yeah?" said a voice that Lenny knew far too well coming from the other side.

"I got the Don's kid, Luca," said the whale.

The door swung open and Lenny found himself face-to-face with his father's right-hand-man, Luca. "Good job," Luca said to the whale. "How ya doin', Lenny? Long time no see." He looked back up at the whale and said, "Take 'im upstairs."

"Gotcha," the whale replied.

Lenny lifted his head again to try to find Kylie among the long line of females. She, her sisters, and Kara were all at the front of the line and appeared to be being inspected by another killer whale. Lenny heard the inspector say, "Alright, you big lot to the right." Kylie and the others all moved to the right where a small number of other females had already started to gather. Lenny hoped that didn't mean instant death.

The next thing Lenny knew, the whale that was carrying him took him inside and up a long set of stairs that lead to another door. All this was happening so fast Lenny couldn't even see the inside of the building. The whale opened the door and brutally threw Lenny inside onto the floor. He just barely hit the floor when the door behind him shut. And then, he heard it. The voice he thought he'd never hear again in his life.

"Hello, Son…"

Lenny gasped and threw himself up off of the floor.

"… Or maybe I don't have the right to call you that anymore," Lino continued.

"W-what do you want with me?" Lenny asked nervously.

"Want?" Lino repeated. "Can't a guy come all this way to apologize to his son?"

Lenny looked shocked. "Apologize? Really?"

Lino scoffed. "Don't play stupid with me, of course not really. You think I'd have this place built, drag all your friends down here, and work 'em all to death to apologize, do ya?"

"Work 'em to death?" Lenny repeated. "What do you mean work 'em to death?"

Lino rolled his eyes. "Didn't that fossil of a history teacher of yours teach you anything? This is a labor camp, see? Its purpose is to cram as many losers as possible inside, and hope they eventually die of sickness or hunger. And their daily schedule is as follows; wake up at the crack of dawn, line up for roll call, dig ditches all day, then bed."

"What about food?" Lenny asked.

"Don't sweat it," said Lino. "They'll each get a fish or two for lunch."

"But… but they don't eat fish."

Lino sighed. "You are catchin' on so slow. I'm not gonna repeat this again so listen; the point of this camp is to make them miserable. If I really can't stand 'em, I have the option of sendin' 'em to the oil chamber to have 'em dealt with. Now pipe down, this is my favorite part."

Before Lenny could ask, Lino turned around and swam up to a large window that overlooked an enormous dimly lit room. Lenny could only see the room's ceiling. He really didn't want to know what went on in there.

"Luca told me you got hitched a few years back," said Lino gazing out the window into the next room. "Which one of these dames is she?"

Lenny tried to act courageous. "As if I'll tell you."

"Is she that good lookin' one in the blue scarf?" Lino asked.

"Kylie!" Lenny swam up to the window. He was shocked when he looked into the next room to find out that Lino's new office overlooked the entrance to the female's section of the camp. It was a grotesque sight. All throughout the room were tables covered with various objects surrendered from prisoners upon arrival. Each table had a female killer whale guard standing by who would take the objects for storage. All the female vegetarian sharks were being rushed from one station to another, and each was more horrible than the last. Lenny could see Kylie, her sisters, and Kara near the entrance. They were moving quickly trying to stay in a group so as not to get separated. As they moved along, one of the female guards grabbed Kayla by the fin and pulled her up to a table of assorted glasses. The guard thuggishly removed Kayla's glasses and placed them on the table. Kara took Kayla, who was now squinting, by the fin and guided her the rest of the way.

Lino chuckled coldly at Kayla's misery. "Sad day for you, four-eyes."

Lenny frowned at this cruel sick joke and watched as Kylie and her family proceeded to the next table, which confiscated jewelry. At this table, Kandice removed her headband and peace medallion and the twins removed their chokers and bracelets. At the next table, which took other bits of clothing, Kylie and Kimmy removed their scarves and Kelsey removed her fin warmers. All the girls were officially free of any clothing or accessories. They lined up single-file at a table where a guard was seated. She quickly scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to Kylie. This process was repeated until every family member was holding a paper.

"What's written on those papers?" Lenny asked Lino.

"Their barrack numbers," Lino replied, "Which they're about to be branded with."

"Branded?"

Lenny watched the family swim up to the last, longest table, at which all eight of them took a seat. This table had eight guards who were all holding a long piece of metal. Lenny didn't like the looks of this. He watched as Kylie handed one guard the paper she'd been given. The guard read the paper then grabbed Kylie's left fin and started scratching what she'd read with the piece of metal. The other girls were going through this same process. All eight of them had blood oozing from their fins and sorrow in their faces. Lenny couldn't bear to watch, but he did to make sure his wife was alright. The branding process took just a few minutes. When the family of eight was finished, they moved along miserably out of the room to go to their barracks. Kara looked especially upset. She had seven daughters to comfort and only two fins. At the moment she had one fin around Kayla, who still needed the most attention, and the other around Kimmy. It comforted Lenny a bit to see that Kylie, though crying because of the forced separations from her husband, father, and son, had Kandice by her side to comfort her.

"So she _is_ my daughter-in-law, huh?" Lino asked as the two of them watched Kylie and her family leave the room.

Lenny shut his eyes and nodded.

"Hm, I have to admit it pains me to see a face like that in a place like this," Lino said with a nasty smile. "Maybe she's more suitable for the oil chamber."

"No!" Lenny shouted.

"You raise that voice at me again, I'll send Luca down there and goodbye Cloe," Lino threatened.

"Kylie!" Lenny corrected.

"I couldn't care less what her name is, keep screamin' at me and you'll be a widower. Ya wanna know what we did with that kid of yours?"

Lenny's eyes widened. "Where is he?" he demanded.

"Forget 'im," said Lino. "You won't see him again, he's already in the oil chambers."

"What?"

"And there's room for one more pretty little face in there if you don't stop screamin' at me and do exactly what I tell you to do," Lino snarled.

Knowing he was now defeated, Lenny surrendered. "Do whatever you want with me, just leave Kylie alone."

"Oh I sure will do whatever I want with you," said Lino. "But I'm afraid I can't leave her alone. She's still my prisoner, ya little fool. She'll be keelin' over from hunger in no time. And she, that little guppy kid of yours… and you will all be together again." He started leaning in dangerously close to Lenny.

Suddenly Lenny knew what he meant by 'together again'. "No!"

"It's a fish-eat-fish world, twerp. You either take or you get taken. And since you wouldn't take..." Lino opened his jaws as wide as he could.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Lenny opened his eyes quickly. He was panting heavily and beads of sweat were running down his brow. He looked around and realized he was in his room. Kylie was asleep right next to him and Kendall was asleep in his own bed. Lenny sighed. _"It was just a dream,"_ he thought. That may have been true, but only for the time being. If he faced his mom at that meeting tomorrow, that dream was sure to come true. _"No. That's not gonna happen to my wife and son. I'm keeping my face hidden from Mom, end of story."_ He turned back to Kylie and kissed her on the cheek. "I'll keep you and Kendall safe, I promise," he said quietly.

_End of chapter _

_Author's note: Yeah, I really fooled you guys into thinking all that really happened, huh? LOL! _


	18. Chapter 18

_Chapter 18_

Lenny didn't get much sleep the rest of the night. He was afraid of having another nightmare like the one he'd already had. He was also burdened with the possibility of that nightmare ever coming true. He knew better than anybody that Lino was known for being both a killing machine and a shark who never went back on his word. If he ever threatened to kill, he would kill. And if he ever made a mistake, he would never apologize let alone admit his mistake. That's just how proud he was. Pride. That's all it ever was with Lino, the great white who was at the top of the food chain. Compassion and understanding were for the spineless lower species. Lino would never show any signs of mercy, kindness, or regret. Why in the world shouldn't that dream come true?

But there was something else picking at Lenny's mind through the night: Why? That is, why was Lino the way he was? Why was he so harsh to everyone who surrounded him, even his own family? Couldn't he go through one day in his life without flashing the daggers he called teeth and making everyone in his path flea him? Had he signed some petition stating that he would never be nice to a single soul as long as he lived? Perhaps his excuse was his theory about it being a fish-eat-fish world. Had he always lived by people's expectations for sharks or was it sheer choice that he was so cruel? After all, he was a mob boss. But couldn't he be more than that? Couldn't he act like a real father for once? A father who let his children be free to be who they were and be happy with it, instead of having certain expectations and reprimanding them if they ever strayed from those expectations? To Lenny, the apparent answer had always been no. Lino was a mob boss and a control freak twenty-four hours a day, even at home with his family who he always expected to be the same. And if Lenny had to be a killer for his own father to love him, then Lino would never be his father, Kylie's father-in-law, or Kendall's grandfather. The only father figure Lenny had now was Kurtis, and that was how it was going to be.

By the time Lenny was able to fall back asleep, the sun was just beginning to rise. He hadn't seen what time it was because he was too tired. He just dozed off into a thankfully dreamless slumber and didn't wake up until about two or three hours later when he heard his alarm go off.

Kylie was already awake and ordering breakfast over the phone. "Good morning, handsome," she said happily.

Lenny was in a grouchy mood from both lack of sleep and confusion over the upcoming meeting. "What's so good about it, morning person?"

Kylie teasingly stuck her tongue out. "I'm sorry, not you," she said into the phone. "I was talking to my husband." The person on the other line apparently thought she was telling them good morning. "Just one second, please. Lenny, I'm ordering breakfast. What would you like?"

"Not in the mood," Lenny moped.

"What? Lenny, you have to eat something."

"No really, I'm fine," Lenny insisted.

Kylie, still reluctant to argue with him, continued ordering on the phone. "Okay, I'll just have a cappuccino, kelp juice in a sippy cup, and two Danishes. Thank you." She hung up the phone and turned back to Lenny. "Alright, you, please tell me you're fasting for religious purposes and praying to God for help because otherwise I'm gonna be worrying about your health for the rest of the day."

"Oh please," said Lenny. "My health is the least of our problems. And if you knew what I dreamt last night, you'd know what I mean."

"What'd you dream about?"

Before Lenny could answer, there was a knock at the door.

"Wow, when did the breakfast people become so fast?" Lenny asked.

"That's not the breakfast person," said Kylie. "I figured you could use a little advice from the people I've always turned to for help."

Lenny knew who she was referring to. "But Kendall's still sleeping, we can't have 'em all in here…"

The door opened before he could finish. "Hey, guys," said Kelsey. "What's up with you not answering? Do you keep all your guests waiting around this long?"

Lenny's mood was getting darker by the second. "Well maybe we would've let you in if you'd just been a little more patient, Kelsey."

Kelsey raised an eyebrow. "Touchy," she exclaimed.

Kylie shot Lenny a look that said, 'that's no way to greet our guests,' then she turned to face Kelsey and the rest of her family. "Sorry, come on in, guys."

Kelsey swam inside followed by her parents and the rest of the girls. They all kept quiet when they saw that Kendall was still asleep.

"Okay, everyone," Lenny said once they were all inside. "What's going on here?"

"Kylie told us that you're meeting with your mom today," said Kara. "We figured you'd be nervous so we thought we'd all come by and personally wish you luck. We know it's been a long time since you've seen anyone in your family."

Lenny winced and stared blankly down at the floor.

"Kylie also mentioned your dad and what he said he'd do to sharks like us," Kurtis explained slowly.

"I gathered," Lenny replied.

"I had to tell them," Kylie said to Lenny. "They're your family now too."

"I know," said Lenny. "That's why I'm so afraid of finding out how this is all gonna end."

"I seriously doubt one shark could be cruel enough to have an entire innocent reef killed," Kara asked.

Lenny scoffed. "You guys don't know my dad. He's a macho, four-ton killing machine with a short temper and machetes for teeth."

"Please," said Katrina in an unconvinced tone. "I used to date guys like that."

"I used to take lunch money from guys like that," said Kelsey.

"He must have a strong neck," said Kimmy. "I'm gonna have to measure him if I'm gonna knit him a scarf."

None of these comments made Lenny feel better. "Then why don't one of you meet with my mom today?"

"Excuse me, but did I hear the word macho in there somewhere?" asked boy-crazy Karissa. "What does your dad look like, Lenny? Is he cute? What color are his eyes? What am I saying? He's a mob boss; he probably lost one eye in a fight. In that case, what color is his eye?"

Lenny was becoming increasingly horrified because Karissa was probably planning to become his mother.

"Karissa!" Kylie snapped. "Please stop asking all these creepy questions. You're making Lenny feel worse. Besides, even if his dad is cute, he's like forty years older than you and he's married. Do you seriously think he would be attracted to you?"

"Well gee, I just wanted to know if he was cute," said Karissa.

Katrina sighed. "Unbelievable," she said to her twin. "Not only am I related to you but you're three minutes older than me. How is that possible when I'm clearly the more mature one?"

Karissa giggled. "Oh Katrina, I know you don't really mean that."

"Yes I do," said Katrina. "Otherwise why would I keep asking Mom and Dad to let me join a cult?"

"The answer is still no by the way," Kurtis informed her.

"Come on, Dad," said Katrina. "It's bad enough that I look exactly like her."

Karissa looked hurt. "You are so mean to me sometimes."

Katrina rolled her eyes. "Ah great, here come the waterworks."

"Uh, guys?" said Lenny. "This is all fun and everything, but I thought we were discussing my problems."

"Right," said Katrina.

"Sorry," said Karissa.

"Actually, you don't have to be," said Lenny. "You both just reminded me of my relationship with my dad."

The twins exchanged confused looks and said, "How?"

"My dad and I used to fight all the time because, like you two, we have absolutely nothing in common," Lenny explained. "It's so weird, we're like night and day. I used to wonder if I was adopted or switched at birth. He never understood me and I never understood him."

"That's crazy talk," said Kandice. "Now I know Karissa and Katrina may look like total opposites. But looks can be deceiving. I look at these two and try to ignore the differences in jewelry, eye make-up, auras, and the birthmark on Karissa's tailfin."

"You will never speak of that again, Kandice," Karissa warned.

Katrina chuckled under her breath.

"I try to think of the things they have in common," Kandice continued. "They share the same birthday, they're both female, they're both overprotective of their diaries, and, along with the rest of us, they're both creations of the good Lord above us."

"You know, she has a point, Lenny," said Kylie. "You and your dad may have several differences, but you should try to ignore them and focus on any similarities you may have."

"I suppose," said Lenny doubtfully. "The problem is I can't think of any. And even if we did have any similarities, how's that gonna prevent him from sending us all to a concentration camp?"

"Lenny, enough with the Hitler talk already," said Kylie.

"Well forgive me for only telling you what I saw in my dream last night," Lenny replied.

Kylie stared at him. "You dreamt that your dad sent us to a concentration camp?"

"All of us," said Lenny. "The entire reef."

"You know what that tells me?" Kylie asked. "It tells me you really are overreacting."

"What if I'm not?" Lenny panicked. "What if it really does come true? My dad never went back on his word, especially not when he said he'd kill someone. If I look my mom in the face today, we could all be in trouble. I appreciate your support, everyone, but my mind's made up. I'm keeping myself hidden when I meet with my mom. It's for your own good."

Everyone was silent. It was clear to them all that Lenny was serious about his decision. They glanced at each other, aware that they'd been defeated and had failed in their attempt to convince him. Then again, maybe not all of them had been defeated.

Kayla, who'd remained silent the entire time, approached Lenny and said, "Lenny, I may not know a lot about your dad, but I seriously doubt he's as bad as you're saying he is."

Lenny looked her in the eye and said, "Yeah? Did Kylie not tell you that he kicked me outta the house?"

"No, she did," said Kayla. "But you know, there is a bright side to that."

Lenny almost chuckled at the very thought. "What could possibly be a bright side to being kicked out of my house by my own dad?"

Kayla didn't need time to think, she already had examples fresh in her mind. "If he hadn't kicked you out, you and Kylie never would've met, you wouldn't be co-president of the lost-and-found organization, and Kendall wouldn't be here."

Lenny thought about that for a minute and said, "The sad thing is that actually makes sense. Now I don't know what to do."

"The only advice I have to offer is the same advice you gave me six years ago when you helped me feel better about my glasses," said Kayla.

"And that was?" Lenny asked.

Kayla put a fin on his shoulder and said, "Choose wisely."

Lenny smiled, not just at the advice but also at Kayla herself. He was really proud of her. She was no longer the over-shy and under-confident little dormouse she was when Lenny first met her. She still had a reputation for being the quiet one in the family, but she was much more confident and social nowadays. She was no longer insecure about her glasses and she never let Kelsey's hurtful jokes get to her. Lenny was also impressed at how she'd physically blossomed over the years as well. She was now twenty-one and was looking more and more like Kylie by the day. Certainly a great deal more than the other girls did, even twenty-three-year-old Kandice. Kylie was still the most beautiful in Lenny's book, but Kayla was just about up there.

"Thanks, Kayla," he said.

"What can I say?" she asked. "I'm too involved now that you married my sister."

Lenny turned to face the rest of the family. "And thank you guys too," he said.

"Glad we could help, Son," said Kurtis.

Lenny faced Kylie and said, "I'd better get to work."

"Good luck," Kylie said as Lenny was out the door. Then she turned to Kayla and said, "Okay, who are you and what have you done with my meek little sister who I could never get to say more than three words?"

Kayla shrugged. "So you think he's convinced now?"

"I don't know," Kylie replied. "But I assure you I'm gonna find out. Mom, would you mind watching Kendall for the afternoon?"

_End of chapter_


	19. Chapter 19

_Chapter 19_

Five minutes to three. That's what the clock said. Lenny had been watching the clock all day trying to decide what to do. Stick to his old plan and have his back turned on his mom when she came in or let her come in facing him and finish her years-long search then and there. If he ever decided to stick to the latter plan, his thoughts would return to his dream. He still wasn't sure of the consequences but if Lino was still the same the outcome could be deadly. So Lenny decided to combine his two options. He was going to test Kathleen. He would keep his face hidden from her and let Dustin do all the talking. If she gave them any good reasons why they should find her "missing" son, Lenny would face her. If not, he would have to come up with a good excuse for not helping her. Either way, he was still nervous about what was about to happen.

Dustin could tell he was apprehensive. "You okay?" he asked.

Lenny took a deep breath and said, "I think so."

"What do you want me to do again?"

"Just try to get any information you can without sounding suspicious," Lenny reminded him. "I wanna see if my dad really has changed. If she says anything that means he has changed, which I doubt, I'll probably ask you to leave."

"Ah, so you two can catch up?" Dustin asked.

Lenny nodded. "Anything else you didn't catch?"

"No, I…"

Dustin was interrupted by a knock at the office door.

"That must be her," said Dustin. "Better turn around before she…"

Before he could finish the sentence or Lenny could turn his chair around, the door opened and the knocker came in. They were both surprised to see that it was, not Kathleen, but Kylie.

"What are you doing here?" Lenny asked quietly when she reached the desk.

"Making sure you don't make the biggest mistake of your life," Kylie replied.

Lenny tried to talk her out of it. "You don't have to. We've got it all under control."

"I still wanna be here for you," said Kylie.

"Mom or not, this is still a meeting," Lenny explained. "We can't have you in here telling me what to do…"

"Relax," said Kylie. "I'm not gonna say a word. I'm just gonna stay over there in that corner and watch your every move. And if I think you need any help, I'll give it to you in a nonverbal way."

"But..."

Then there was another knock on the door. All three of them knew immediately it was Kathleen.

"One minute please!" Dustin called. "I'll let her in. You two better take your places." He got up from his seat and slowly made his way to the door.

Lenny knew now there was no turning back. It was too late to talk Kylie out of staying, so he let her. He turned his chair around so Kathleen wouldn't be able to see him and Kylie swam a few feet away to the nearest corner. Then a thought struck Lenny.

"Kendall?" he asked Kylie in a raised whisper.

Kylie looked back and said, "My mom's watching him."

After making sure Lenny and Kylie were in their places, Dustin turned the door handle and welcomed their guest.

"Good afternoon," Lenny heard him say. "You must be Kathleen."

"Yes, I am." A tear almost fell from Lenny's eye when he heard his mother's voice. He realized now that this was the first time he'd heard her gentle voice in seven years.

"Please come in and have a seat," said Dustin.

"Thank you."

Seconds later Dustin was back at Lenny's side. "This is my co-President," Dustin explained to Kathleen.

After a few seconds of silence, Lenny heard Kathleen say, "Why won't he…"

"Uh, my co-President is a very private shark," Dustin covered. "He usually lets me do the talking for both of us while he does the paper work."

The irony to that statement was in truth it was the other way around, but Lenny had other things on his mind. He actually did feel like crying right now. His mom, who he hadn't seen or heard from in seven years, was only feet away from him and she didn't even know. There was only one thing preventing him from turning around and hugging her: Lino. So Lenny was forced to continue to suffer. Kylie saw the sorrow in his eyes and hoped he really did know what he was doing.

Dustin began asking Kathleen whatever questions he had. "Now Kathleen, we understand that you've come a long way to get here."

"That's correct," Kathleen replied. "I've traveled far, from the South Side Reef. My husband's back at home."

"I see, and what exactly does your husband do?" asked Dustin, knowing Lenny at least wanted to hear that.

"He's retired now," said Kathleen. "He used to run the reef. Our son was supposed to take over the business but his leaving us made that impossible."

"_So Pop is retired huh?"_ Lenny thought. _"Well, Oscar and Angie were right about one thing. But this still doesn't mean he's changed." _

"And you've been searching for your son for seven years, you said?" Dustin continued.

"Just about," said Kathleen.

"If you don't mind me asking, exactly how old would that make him?"

Kathleen thought. "Well he was nineteen when he left us so by now he'd be about twenty-six."

"Hm," said Dustin. "Now you are aware that our main purpose is helping to find lost children, are you not?"

"Yes, I understand that," Kathleen answered quickly. "But I heard great things about this organization. I heard nobody can file a search party better than you. I've been trying to find my son for years and never came close with the help I got. Besides, I know he's not a technically a child, but as a mother I have to say that he's still my baby."

Lenny was becoming more emotional by the second, but for now he still had to stick to his guns.

"Your story breaks my heart," said Dustin. "In that case, though it may not be what we normally do, we'll see if we can help. Do you happen to have a photo of your son taken around the same time you lost him?"

"Thank you so much," said Kathleen. "And yes, I do." She was silent for a moment. Lenny could tell she was searching through her purse. "Here it is."

Dustin took the picture and pretended to examine it. "Thank you."

Lenny looked at the picture from the corner of his eye. That was him alright and Dustin knew it.

"And what did you say his name was?" Dustin asked, even though he knew the answer already.

"Lenny. L-E-N-N-Y."

"And most importantly," Dustin finished, "Do you have any knowledge as to why he ran away from home?"

"Well actually, he didn't run away," said Kathleen.

"Oh?"

"He left for another reason, but I really don't feel comfortable discussing it."

Even though Dustin already knew the answer, he said, "I understand why you would be upset, Kathleen, but we will need a reason why he left to find him. Otherwise, it could be that he may not want to be found."

"_Good excuse, Dustin,"_ Lenny thought.

"Well then," Kathleen started. "I'll only say that I must find him. I miss him incredibly and also I want to relieve my husband of his suffering."

The last word caught the attention of all three of the listening sharks. Lenny, now more confused than melancholy, thought he knew exactly what Kylie was thinking.

"Suffering?" Dustin asked. "What do you mean suffering?"

Kathleen sighed and began explaining. "You see, seven years ago our son was beginning to have a reputation for being, let's say, 'different' from the other sharks. It was revealed that he ate kelp. I know that's normal on this reef but not back home. I had no problems with it but it angered my husband greatly. He lost his temper, as so often happened, and he told our son that he… didn't care to see him anymore. That's why he left. At first I was furious with my husband but the very next day I went to the living room and found him lying on the floor. I thought he was dead. I bent down to check his heart, slapped him for scaring me the way he did, and then noticed how upset he looked. I asked him what was wrong, and do you know what he said? 'I miss him'."

Lenny could swear he felt his heart skip a beat.

"I knew immediately who he meant," Kathleen continued. "I no longer felt furious with him because I saw that for the first time in his life, he was admitting that he'd made a terrible mistake. Not a day has passed since then where he doesn't regret what he said to our son. To this day, he can't even face himself in the mirror. He's been living with this guilt for seven years and I can never do anything to make him feel better. He's so miserable that he almost never leaves our room."

"_That's why Pop never leaves home anymore?"_ Lenny thought. _"Because he… misses me? And he actually feels guilty about what he said?"_ He looked over at Kylie, who quietly mouthed, "Told ya!"

"That's when I started this search for our son," said Kathleen. "I knew that it was the only way to put my husband out of his misery. But it's not just him. I've been missing Lenny too. And I can't go back without him. If I do, it could break my husband's heart completely. We already know what the pain of losing a child feels like. We've felt it before. We can't sleep at night without knowing that our only living child is safe." Her voice started shaking, as if she was crying. "So I'm begging you, please… Please help me find my son." Now it was clear that she really was crying.

No one said a word for almost a whole minute. Lenny looked up at Dustin with big, shocked eyes. The look on Dustin's face said, "Did you hear what I heard?" The answer of course was yes. Lenny could not believe a single word of Kathleen's story. Lino actually missed him? He suddenly felt a painful sensation in his chest that he'd never felt in his life. What was this feeling? Could it possibly be… guilt? He looked over at Kylie, whose face told him, "You know what to do. Go on." Lenny gulped and then nodded. He looked back up at Dustin and made a pointing gesture at the office door.

Dustin winked and said to Kathleen, "I promise you we'll help you find your son. But first, I think you should have a private talk with my co-president. I'll be right outside if you need me."

Lenny remained silent until he heard the office door open and close. Then, with a pounding heart and tearful eyes, he turned around to face Kathleen, whose face was buried in her fins. He got out of his chair, swam up to her, and said, "I won't let you or Pop suffer anymore."

Kathleen still didn't look up.

Lenny inhaled deeply and said, "It's me, Mom… Lenny."

Kathleen slowly lifted her head and opened her eyes to face him. "Lenny!" she gasped.

The two of them stared at each other for the next several seconds, both tearful and both breathing heavily. Then Kathleen threw herself forward and hugged Lenny tightly. "My baby," she sobbed.

Lenny hugged her back and said, "I'm here, Mom."

Kylie watched the whole thing, feeling both touched by the sight and proud of her husband for choosing wisely.

"So, did you mean everything you just said?" Lenny asked Kathleen.

Kathleen wiped her eyes and said, "Every word of it. Your father regrets whatever he said and he wants you home."

Now came the hard part that Lenny had to explain. "I'm sorry, but I can't."

Kathleen looked stunned. "Why ever not?"

"Because I belong here, Mom," said Lenny. "For once in my life, I'm not different. Everybody here likes me for who I am. Plus, look around you. This is my office. I'm co-president of this huge organization that helps kids, which I love to do. I can't just leave all this behind."

"But Lenny," Kathleen tried to protest. "We just spent seven years thinking you were dead. And this is a lovely place and all but you can always come back and visit." Then she studied the look on her son's face and said, "There's something else, isn't there?"

"It's more of a someone," Lenny replied.

"I don't understand."

Lenny looked in Kylie's direction and smiled as he held out his fin to her. "Kylie?"

Kylie shot him a cheeky smile with a raised eyebrow and emerged from her corner. When she reached Lenny, she hugged him and whispered, "I'm so proud of you."

Kathleen smiled and placed a fin over her heart, touched that her son had found his true love.

"She's gotta family here, Mom," said Lenny. "And I have one with her."

Kathleen's eyes went wide. "You mean…?"

Lenny nodded. "You're a grandma."

Kathleen suddenly looked puzzled. "Great as that may be, those aren't the exact words I would've chosen."

"Sorry."

"You're really happy here, Lenny?" Kathleen asked looking rather sad.

Lenny took note of his mother's sadness and tried to make up for it. "I'd be happier if you and Pop were here."

Kathleen thought for a moment. "Well…"

"There is an empty room available right next to ours," said Kylie. "We were saving it for our son when he was old enough for his own room, but you and Lenny's dad are more than welcome to take it."

"You're sure?" Kathleen asked.

"Absolutely."

"Please, Mom?" Lenny asked. "I can't leave here, and you said Pop's retired. So why can't you? Just go back home, tell Pop everything, and you guys can move down here."

Kathleen gave the idea a little more thought and finally gave in. "Alright, I'll do it," she said with a smile.

"Awesome," said Lenny.

"But I'm not going anywhere until you introduce me to my in-laws and my grandchild."

_End of chapter, one more to go! _

_Author's note: Wow, three uploads in three days? Now you guys know why I called myself I'm-On-a-Roll lol. _


	20. Chapter 20

_Final Chapter _

Some weeks later, Lenny and Kylie took Kendall for a swim through the reef that ended at the Billboard that said, "Welcome to Clearwater Reef! Where fish and sharks reside together in perfect harmony." It was longer than their usual swim and typically they never stopped at one place, but there was a reason why they had to stop. They knew today would be the day Lino and Kathleen would be arriving and they wanted to welcome them to their new home. The family stood there patiently staring at the horizon. Kendall, like most three-year-olds, had grown bored and didn't exactly know what was going on, so he let his wondering eye keep him entertained while he held Kylie's fin.

Lenny, though aware that Lino was not coming with an army, was still nervous. He was about to see his father for the first time in seven years and the last time he saw him they had gotten into the mother of all fights. Reconciliation didn't sound like the easiest thing in the world right now. Lino wasn't the most emotional shark, and that only made this situation seem more difficult. But Lenny knew they both had to learn to embrace each other.

Kylie glanced at him and saw how nervous he was. She got his attention by tapping him on the fin and smiled to assure him everything would be fine. Lenny couldn't help but wonder why it seemed so easy for her to be anxious. She would be meeting Lino for the first time and he (Lenny) had been raised by Lino. Then again, it made sense because Kylie was always eager to meet new people.

Pretty soon, Lenny let his own wondering eye get the best of him. He looked up at the large billboard and read the message written on it. Part of him hoped Lino would see it and not have a hard time adapting to his new vegetarian surroundings. The other part was reminded of the first time Lenny had seen that billboard and how much his life had changed since that day. He smiled at the memories. That was also the first day he'd met his wife and the first day he'd become an employee in the lost and found organization. To think the first time he saw that billboard he was a lonely, wandering outcast. And now here he was: a husband, father, co-president, and only twenty-six. In retrospect, being kicked out was the best thing that ever happened to him.

"Lenny," Kylie said, tapping him again. "Look."

Lenny returned his gaze to the horizon and saw two figures approaching them about a quarter mile away. Both appeared to be sharks and both were carrying suitcases. And one of them was a heck of a lot bigger than the other one. Lenny and Kylie didn't need a close look to know that the big shark was Lino and the other was Kathleen. Lenny nervously pressed his lips together as his parents came closer.

"Go on," Kylie said to him.

"Go on what?" Lenny asked.

"Go on and make up with your father, silly."

Lenny still wasn't sure about the idea. "But I don't know what to say to him."

"Then don't say anything," Kylie said with a smile. "Just hug him and let him know you forgive him. Let your heart do the talking."

Lenny nodded slowly and said, "Okay." He took a deep breath and swam off towards his approaching parents.

Kylie watched him, hoping he wouldn't blow his big chance. She looked down at Kendall, who was still a little confused about what was going on, and said, "Wish Daddy luck, Kendall. He's gonna need it."

Lenny nervously kept his eyes on Lino until he stopped a few feet in front of his parents. He hadn't been able to see it when he was standing with Kylie but up close he could tell that Lino was nervous to see him too. For several seconds they only stared blankly at each other to see how much they'd both changed since they last spoken. Lenny was rather surprised that Lino hadn't changed much. His face hadn't aged a lot, even though he was no sixty, and he still had the same powerful physique.

It must've been about twenty seconds when Kathleen put her fin on Lino's back and said, "Go on."

Lino inhaled deeply and sluggishly approached his long lost son. He reached his fin out onto Lenny's shoulder. "Lenny?"

Lenny winced and said, "Hi, Pop."

The last time he said that, Lino nearly bit his head off for dressing like a dolphin in front of his peers. This time he'd said it with the same amount of nerves but in a less miserable tone. That was all he could say at the moment. The two remained silent and motionless for about another minute. They seemed to be waiting for each other to make the first move… whatever that first move was.

At last, Lino's lower lip began to shake. "Lenny," he repeated in a shaky voice.

That was the final straw. Lenny couldn't hold it back anymore. In that one moment, all the fear and distain he once had for Lino was replaced by all the love a son could ever have for his father. He let out a small sniff and tears began flowing from his eyes like there was no tomorrow. "Dad!" He threw his fins tightly around Lino's neck and wept hysterically on his shoulder.

Lino dropped his suitcase to the ground and held his son as close to him as he could. "It's alright," he said gently. "Papa's here. Papa's gotcha."

After a few moments they pulled away just by a few inches.

"I thought I'd never see your face again," said Lino.

Lenny shut his eyes as he felt his father kiss him on the forehead. They embraced each other again; this time Lenny had his fins around Lino's toned belly. "Please don't let me go again," Lenny pleaded.

"I promise I won't," Lino replied. "I thought about you and your brother, may he rest in peace, everyday and about what I'd give to have you both back in my life."

"And all this time I thought you hated me," Lenny admitted.

"I didn't mean a word of that stuff I said," said Lino. "I was upset, and confused, and… I never thought about the consequences. I had to learn this the hard way, but there's not a thing about you that I'd change. You're my boy, nothing will ever change that."

"Really?"

"Really. I've been waiting all these years to tell you that. Now I finally get a second chance and Lord knows I don't deserve it."

Lenny remembered what Kylie had told him only weeks ago when he was reluctant to give Lino a second chance. "Everyone deserves a second chance," he said in a comforting tone.

He felt so bittersweet at the moment. He felt safe and warm in his father's strong fins but the pain his chest that had begun during his meeting with Kathleen remained there. He realized now that what he was feeling truly was guilt. For so long he thought Lino was nothing more than a ruthless, power-hungry bad guy. But now it was clear to him that Kylie had been right. Lino only appeared harsh and rough around the edges, but inside of him was a big, loving heart. After all, all the seemingly terrible things he'd done in the past, he'd done to protect his loved ones. Maybe, Lenny thought, the real bad guy was himself, for thinking such horrible things about his father and for practically rejoicing when a rumor started that he was dead. Lino truly had loved him all these years and the last thing he'd felt in return was love. Perhaps this was a scenario where the old saying "absence makes the heart grow fonder" had proven true. Lenny's absence had made Lino's heart grow fonder. Now they'd been reunited and both hearts were mending.

"I love you, Papa," Lenny said as he let his tears fall onto his father's shoulder.

"I love you too, Son," Lino replied. "Don't ever doubt that."

"I never will."

After a few minutes, Lenny had officially cried himself dry. Either that or it finally occurred to him that seeing his dad for the first time in years was no time for sorrow. Whichever it was, both sharks were endlessly happy as they held each other.

The joyful moment was suddenly interrupted when Lenny felt someone very small tugging on his fin. Lenny and Lino looked down at the intruder. It turned out to be Kendall, who was probably curious about the strange shark his dad was hugging. Lenny picked him up and prepared to make the introduction he once vowed never to make. But he wasn't introducing his innocent son to the killer who disowned him, he was introducing him to his grandfather.

Lenny smiled at his son and said, "Kendall, this is your grandpa."

Lino rubbed Kendall's head as if he was ruffling a human child's hair. "Hey there, little fella."

Kendall, go fig, was a little shy and slow to respond. Thankfully his dad was there to help him come out of his shell.

"Can you say hi to Grandpa?" Lenny encouraged.

Kendall smiled at Lino and said, "Hi, Grandpa."

Kylie was a few feet away chuckling at the sight. In her head, she was remembering Lenny screaming to her that he'd never introduce Kendall to Lino and now here he was doing just that. And to her, that spelled out funny.

"Good lookin' kid," Lino said to Lenny as he examined Kendall. "Looks just like you did at his age."

"I've heard," said Lenny.

"Just not the eyes," Lino pointed out.

"Yeah, those he got from his mom."

Lino held his fins out. "Let me see him."

Lenny carefully held Kendall out and Lino took him in his fins. The proud grandfather and curious grandson took just a moment to look over each other. Kendall, who was starting to feel less shy, reached his fin out to Lino's face and rubbed his snout. Lino chuckled at the guesture and nuzzled Kendall affectionately, causing him to smile at the attention. It was safe to say that they loved each other already.

Kylie swam up to Lenny, who was partially distracted by the adorable sight, and quietly said, "And I thought you said you had nothing in common."

Lenny gave her a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"It looks to me like he loves kids as much as you do," Kylie replied.

Lenny looked back at Lino, who had placed Kendall on his shoulder and was now tickling him under the chin.

"Maybe you're right," Lenny said with a smile.

"Maybe?" Kylie repeated.

Lenny sighed. "Okay, you _are_ right. You've been right this whole time. I'll give you your props."

Kylie smiled. "Now that I can see him up close, I can finally see where you get your good looks from," she said to Lenny.

Lenny blushed. "Guess that makes two things we have in common, huh?"

"Two in a row, you're on fire," Kylie teased.

Lenny smiled at her and then turned his attention back to Lino, who was still playing with Kendall. "Pop?"

Lino looked at him.

Lenny put his fin on Kylie's back and said, "This is Kylie."

Kylie approached her father-in-law with a smile on her face.

"So you're the lucky gal, eh?" Lino asked, reaching his fins out onto Kylie's shoulders.

"I couldn't wait to meet you," said Kylie.

"I hope that boy of mine's been treatin' you right," said Lino.

Kylie nodded. "Rest assured, he's a perfect husband."

"Good," said Lino. "A lass as fair as yourself only deserves the best."

Kylie kissed him on the cheek and said, "I had a feeling I'd like you."

The kiss had left Lino both speechless and smiling in a goofy fashion, which Kathleen noticed. "Hey, have you forgotten you're married?" she teased Lino.

"Yeah, so are you," Lenny said to Kylie.

Kylie scoffed. "Well forgive me for liking him a lot more than you thought I would."

"Yeah, take it easy, Son," said Lino throwing his fin around Lenny's shoulders. "I'd never try to steal her from you."

Lenny smiled and placed his fin on his father's back.

"Okay then," said Kylie. "Let's get you both settled in your new home and tonight Lino can meet my family."

Lino picked up his suitcase, being careful not to let Kendall slip off his shoulder, and said, "Sounds good to me."

As the group made their way back to the ship, Lenny said to Kylie, "Maybe we should wait about a week or two for my dad to meet your family."

"Why?" Lino asked. "Don't ya think I wanna meet my in-laws?"

"It's a joke," said Kylie. "He thinks my family's weird but it only seems that way because it's a kinda big family."

"Yeah?" said Lino. "How big we talkin'?"

"Me, Mom, Dad, and six sisters," Kylie replied.

"Six?" Lino scoffed. "That's nothin'."

Kylie's jaw dropped. "You are the first person who's ever said that."

"Well get this, my old man had eleven brothers," Lino explained. "All born on the same day."

Kylie looked dumbstruck. "Uh, how is that even possible?"

"I dunno, but you can bet their ma's picture was on the front page," Lino joked.

"Family reunions were pretty confusing when I was a kid," Lenny said to Kylie. "My brother and I would think we were saying hi to our grandpa and then he'd say, 'what's the matter with ya, Sonnies? Don't ya recognize your great uncle Alan?'"

"And you had to hope that you didn't accidentally say hi to my uncle Reggie," Lino continued. "'Cause then he'd start rambling about when he was a teenager and no girlfriend he ever had could tell him and his brothers apart."

"He never married," said Lenny.

"Wow," Kendall said to Lino. "You must know a lot of stories, Grandpa."

Lino laughed. "How'd ya like to hear one about your ol' man?"

Lenny didn't like the sound of that. "No! No, I don't think he does. I'm not listening, la la la, not listening."

"Ah c'mon, Kiddo," Lino teased. "Ya don't want me to let the little guy down, do ya? Besides, I'm pretty sure Kylie wants to hear it too."

"No…"

"You bet I do," Kylie interrupted. "We've been married four years and he never talks about his childhood. Please, Lenny?" she asked with puppy dog eyes that she knew Lenny couldn't refuse.

Lenny rolled his eyes. "Okay, Pop. Go ahead."

Lino chuckled at his son's humor. "So this one time when Lenny was seven and his brother, Frankie, was twelve…"

The rest of the story is too embarrassing so here's where we'll end the chapter.

_The end_


End file.
